Church of San Francesco

Where the church currently stands there was formerly an Etruscan building called the "Bagno della Regina" (Queen's Bath). Later the Romans built baths there and perhaps also a pagan temple.

In 1200 this site belonged to the Benedictine monks of S. Egidio who sold it to the Comune of Cortona who then, a little later, gave it to Brother Elia in January of 1245. In the same year the Franciscans bad begun work on construction of the second church dedicated to their Saint, after the one in Assisi. The resulting building was 43 m. long from the central door to the main altar and about 15 m. wide. It was built in worked stone, in perfect Gothic style, rectangular in shape with bare beams, and cross ogive vaults and mullioned windows.

It was opened to worship in May of 1254. The previous year, Brother Elia was buried in the choir; his remains were exhumed on 13 August, 1966, and under scientific examination any doubt as to their authenticity was removed. In 1596 the Church underwent a significant transformation: the large Gothic windows were replaced by the rectangular ones still visible on the right-hand side and in the choir.

The beautiful organ which was built in 1466 by Lorenzo di Giacomo of Prato, was almost completely destroyed during World War II and bas not been restored.

In the chapel on the right one can see an altarpiece by the Cortonese Mariotto Radi and one by Nicola Monti of Pistoia. In the other chapels there are works by the Florentine, Orazio Fidani, by Andrea Commodi and Lodovico Cardi. The chapel at the end on the right contains a monument to Raniero Ubertini, Bishop of Cortona from 1325 to 1348, who was a victim of the terrible plague of 1348, described by Bocaccio in the Decameron. This chapel dates back to 1657. The marble high altar is the work of Bernardino Radi. The Relic of Santa Croce, brought by Brother Elia from Constantinople and the big Crucifix by the Florentine Giuseppe Piamontini are also worth looking at. The frescoes which were discovered on various parts of the walls are by the School of Buonamico di Martino, called Buffalmacco, and date back to 1382.

Of the five bells, three have been made electric. Brother Elia had one of them cast in 1250 by Petrolini de Trebio and Pasquale Burcatelli Perugino. It was re-cast in 1773 and the diameter measures 85cm. The second bell is of 1267 and the third of 1373 by Maestro Nicola di Cortona. The other two are more recent and are dated 1771 and 1805 respectively.