Modena si Mostra - Church of St. Francesco

If a friend supported you at a difficult time, or even saved your life, wouldn’t you want to repay him or her with a gift? Votive offerings ex voto are exactly this: precious gifts offered to God, Our Lady or a saint embodying a believer's gratitude for obtaining a grace. The museum holds a significant collection of these. Among reliquaries and sacred statues, the display cases on the walls to the...

Like a monumental marble reliquary, the high altar guards the remains of a man of peace who was also a close friend and faithful disciple of St Francis: Blessed Gherardo Boccabadati Maletta. He was born into a noble family in Modena between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th. What a unique experience it must have been to meet the saint of Assisi in person! Gherardo, who soon...

Let’s now turn our gaze to the presbytery, where the high altar is located. Entirely made of Carrara marble, the altar was built in the early 20th century by Carlo Baraldi from Modena, based on a design by engineer Carlo Barberi. Its slender, graceful lines evoke the soaring forms of medieval 14th-century Gothic style. Above the central tabernacle, we can also admire a precious 18th-century papier...

Sometimes, when a danger becomes so severe that it seems life-threatening, human solutions may no longer be enough. In these cases, what is needed is extraordinary help, assistance that comes… from above. This was the case from 1835, when Europe was plagued by a deadly wave of cholera. In that context, Bishop Adeodato Caleffi of Modena called on the population to intensify their prayer and works o...

In the chapel next to the high altar, a grandiose mystical vision unfolds before us... it is the Deposition group, a terracotta work created around 1530 by the Modenese sculptor Antonio Begarelli. Begarelli was a particularly well-known artist in 16th-century Modena and more works of his adorn the nearby church of San Pietro, which we recommend visiting, if you have not already done so! But back t...

Pax et bonum dear visitors, and welcome to the Church of San Francesco. The Friars Minor, later called Franciscans, were founded by St Francis in the early 13th century and soon also spread to Modena thanks to the efforts of Blessed Gherardo Boccabadati, a follower of the saint from Assisi. The church of the order was built here, where it still stands today, starting in 1244.The friars remained at...