Church of St. Francis

Today the unmistakable façade of the Church of St. Francis, which originated as the Hierosolymitan Spedale dedicated to St. John, remains. There is evidence of the building from the early 13th century when the church assumed an important role as the passage of pilgrims and wayfarers along the Via Francigena intensified and was seat of the hospital of the Knights of Malta. In 1300, the important Order of Wool gathered there, thus making the church a place of great prestige; witness to this significant historical event is the circular tile, on the facade of the building adjacent to the church, depicting theAgnus Dei, or the symbol of the said guild.

Following the destruction of the monastery outside Porta San Giovanni, Franciscan monks moved into the church in 1500 and dedicated the building to St. Francis, however, in a period of decline that would continue into the following centuries. In fact, in 1700 the church was demolished at the hands of a private individual, which is why only its magnificent travertine façade in the Pisan-Luccan Romanesque style, which features five round arches, remains of the complex. Like a small hidden treasure, the eight-pointed Maltese Cross can be discerned carved in the fornix of the church's doorway.