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Monastic Complex of San Francesco di Paola

What to see in Altomonte, Cosenza, Calabria


The complex should have been founded in 1363. Later, thanks to the generosity of the Sanseverino di Bisignano, feudal lords of Altomonte, in 1728, the works of the church and of the adjoining convent were completed, completed in 1770, when the stuccos also ended.The architecture of the church, has a Latin cross with a single nave, three chapels on each side interspersed with small cavities and ends with a large choral area composed of the presbytery and the choir separated by a stucco marble altar with small doors, from which access to the choir and the sacristy. The nave is characterized by spectacular eighteenth-century white stucco frames, executed in 1770 by the Neapolitan stucco artist Pasquale Gesumaria with the collaboration of two masters of Saracena, Innocenzo Sassone and Raffaele Morelli.Numerous works of art that originally adorned the interior of the church, now preserved in the Museo Civico. Among the works still present in the structure are the frescoes narrating the Miracles of St. Francis of Paola (Miracle of the Strait of Messina, Miracle of the deformed and blind child, Miracle of coins at the court of the Ferrante King, St. Francis in glory with Madonna, Child and Charitas, Trinity and Saint Michael pushing the demons and Beatitudes in hell), made by Genesio Galtieri (known from 1768 to 1810) and the three paintings depicting the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi, always by the same author. In addition, some sculptures of the saint of Paola are kept, a beautiful wooden sculpture of the "Ecce-Homo" and a group of paintings, preserved in the sacristy, depicting: the Madonna with Child among Saints Lucy and Nicola da Tolentino (attributed to Giovan Battista Rossi ), the Immaculate between Francesco da Paola and Francesco di Sales, the Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Matteo Sicara and the Holy Family with Sant'Anna and San Gioacchino, all of the eighteenth century. Finally, in the apse area, the wooden choir of 1775.The exterior of the sacred complex is characterized by a large window with a mixtilinear form of eighteenth-century shape that gives light to the nave and an elegant bell tower - composed of a double cell with windows and a majolica bulbous cover - which acts as a division between church and convent. The planimetric layout of the conventual complex occupies an area of ​​about 2400 square meters and winds around a central square cloister, covered by round arches, which can be accessed through a beautiful portal of the century. XVIII.Over the centuries, the building hosted the friars of San Francesco di Paola. Suppressed by the French in 1809 and handed over to the Commune, it became the residence of General Desvernois in 1815. Returned to the Minims by Ferdinand II in 1855, it returned to the municipal property after the second suppression in 1861. Today the building is used as a Town Hall with the Council Hall which preserves a beautiful painting by Domenico Purificato, on the theme of emigration. Furthermore, you can admire different wooden furniture from different eras.

  • Piazza San Francesco - 87042, Altomonte (Cosenza)
  • Religious location
  • Suitable for disabled people

Altomonte

Altomonte

Sleep, eat, buy...

= distances as the crow flies
Restaurant da Lucrezia
A typical Calabrian restaurant located in Trebisacce where the flavors of the sea are perceived i...
Via XXV Aprile, Trebisacce (Cosenza)
4741.35 Kilometers from Altomonte
= distances as the crow flies
= distances as the crow flies
= distances as the crow flies

Events

tuesday
2
april, 2024

San Francesco di Paola

saturday
10
august, 2024

White Night

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