Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Alcamo)

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi
Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi
The façade of the church of Saint Francis of Assisi
Basic information
Location	Alcamo, Trapani, Italy
Geographic coordinates	37°58′52″N 12°58′07″E / 37.98102°N 12.96853°E / 37.98102; 12.96853Coordinates: 37°58′52″N 12°58′07″E / 37.98102°N 12.96853°E / 37.98102; 12.96853
Affiliation	Franciscan
Rite	Catholic
Territory	Alcamo
State	Italy
Province	province of Trapani
Region	Sicily
Country	Italy
Website	[1]
Groundbreaking	1348

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a 16th-century-style church dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, located in Alcamo, province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy.

Though according to the historiographic tradition the church had been built between the years 1224 and 1226 by the Blessed Angelo Tancredi of Rieti, one of Saint Francis' fellows, the document of the church's acquisition by the Sicilian province, sealed by Pope Clement VI, dates back to1348.

Between 1379 and 1380 it was reconstructed.

Since the 16th century, Saint Francis' church gave the name to one of the oldest quarters in Alcamo, together with the other three of San Giacomo de Spada, San Calogero and Maggiore Chiesa.

The church was rebuilt for the second time between 1608 and 1648: in this period it was first demolished and later rebuilt, then it was enlarged and embellished in 1716. After the 1968 Belice earthquake, in order to repair the damages suffered by the Church and the convent, there was another restoration which lasted from 1975 to 1976.

The Conventual Franciscans were in Alcamo from 1348 to 1866 and came back in1962. Thanks to a decree of Pope Innocent III dated 1250, they called Conventual the Franciscan Fathers who observed a less rigid Rule of Saint Francis and wore a brown sack and shoes instead of sandals. The friary, which in 1612 expanded to the part of Corso 6 Aprile adjoining the Church and north of it, was rebuilt where it is placed now.

In 1866 it was confiscated by the municipality and became the residence of the Boarding School for the Young Artisans in 1871, then the Carabinieri’s Post and in 1946-47 the junior school "Nino Navarra"; later these premises were used by a Vocational School of Agriculture, and today they host a unit of the primary school "Luigi Pirandello". When the Franciscan Fathers came back in 1962 they were assigned the Church, which became a Parish in 1969, and some rooms.