Along the Via Emilia stands the Church of San Francesco, built in the first half of the eighteenth century based on a design by the Roman architect Francesco Fontana, son of the more renowned Carlo. The building rises on the remains of the earlier Church of Santa Lucia, documented at least since 1412, which later became a Franciscan convent in the mid-fifteenth century.
The structure has a central plan, an irregular octagon animated by a scenographic interior with some Baroque influences, particularly evident in the rich architectural compositions of the seven altars set within radial chapels. At the center stands a ribbed hemispherical dome enclosed within a tall drum that dominates the urban skyline of the historic center of Castel Bolognese.
The chapels:
- Chapel of the Most Holy Crucifix, housing a 15th-century wooden crucifix
- Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Conception or Immaculate, dating to the 18th century and in Baroque style, featuring a statue of the Madonna in a niche attributable to the school of Jacopo della Quercia
- Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua, with a statue of the Saint at its center and an original 17th-century wooden altar
- Main chapel, where the only original element is the marble altar dating from the 17th–18th century; it houses a painting by Ferraù Fenzoni
- Chapel of All Saints, with the 17th-century Bragaldi reliquary altar containing approximately 600 relics
- Chapel of Saint Joseph of Copertino, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, featuring the painting Protectors of Castel Bolognese (1607) by the Faenza-born artist Giovan Battista Bertucci the Younger
The church features a portico at the base of its main façade along Via Emilia, and a lateral façade facing the town’s main square, where the sacristy once stood. The sacristy, together with the ancient bell tower, was destroyed during the Second World War.
The convent was located behind the church, and its cloister now corresponds to Palazzo Mengoni, the current seat of the Municipality of Castel Bolognese, created in the 19th century from the monastic complex following the Napoleonic suppressions.
The structure was struck by a first earthquake in 1781 and a second in 1854, which caused the collapse of the dome. Restoration works were completed in 1866, but further damage occurred during the Second World War.
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