Chiesa Nuova (1615-21)

This church was built on the supposed site of the birth of St Francis.  King Philip III of Spain financed it, and Bishop Marcello Crescenzi laid the first stone in 1615.  The church was in use by 1621, although it was not consecrated until 1691.

The design of the church is based on that of Sant’ Eligio degli Orefici in Rome.  It has an octagonal floor plan with rectangular chapels on four of the sides, creating a Greek cross. 

The brick façade has four Doric pilasters and bears the arms of King Philip III, the Franciscan Order and Brother Alessandro di Trejo, the Vicar General of the Observant Franciscans who originally acquired the site. 

Inside, the door to the left of the presbytery leads to the presumed site of the house in which St Francis grew up, and in which his father imprisoned him during the early stages of his conversion. 

The frescoes that cover the walls are original, and were restored in 1925.  However, the appearance of the interior was radically changed in 1729, when the stucco decoration was added.

Cappella delle Reliquie (to the left of the entrance)
The monochrome frescoes of scenes from the life of St Clare (ca. 1620) are by Cesare Sermei. 

Cappella di San Bernardino (to the right of the entrance)
The monochrome frescoes of scenes from the life of St Bernardino of Siena (ca. 1620) are by Cesare Sermei. 

The altarpiece (ca. 1620), which is usually attributed to Vincenzo Giorgetti, depicts SS Bernardino, Bonaventure and Louis of Toulouse with two other unidentified Franciscan saints holding the symbol “IHS”, the holy name of Christ.  The monochrome frescoes of scenes from the life of St Bernardino of Siena (ca. 1620) are by Cesare Sermei.

Crossing
The frescoes (ca. 1620) by Vincenzo Giorgetti on the eight piers that support the central dome depict scenes from the life of St Francis .

The altarpiece of the Madonna della Cordone (17th century) by Andrea Polinori came from the Santuario di Pantanelli near Todi.  The frescoes (ca. 1620) by Giacomo Giorgetti include the birth of the Virgin (on the left) and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (on the right).

The altarpiece on the high altar, which depicts Dream of the St Francis (ca. 1620), and the frescoes of the Martyrdom of Franciscan saints (ca. 1620) are by Cesare Sermei.  

Vincenzo Giorgetti painted the frescoes (ca. 1620) of this chapel.  The two on the walls depict scenes of the martyrdom of Franciscan saints while those in the lunettes depict SS James of the Marches and Bernardino of Siena, SS Bonaventure and Louis of Toulouse, and SS James of Capestrano and Albert of Sarteano.  (The first and last of these pairs of saints were prominent Observant Franciscans).

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