The church of Saint Francis alla Rocca and convent date back to 1237 when Pope Gregory X gave the Franciscans land on a hill in Viterbo with a small military garrison of Lombard origin.
St. Francis had died a few years ago and the papacy was intent on reuniting and reconciling the numerous orders of hermits who were being born, so supporting the development of the Franciscans seemed an excellent political move.
The church is also called the Pantheon of Viterbo because there are the monumental tombs of two popes, Clement IV with a sepulchre built by Pietro di Oderisio, and Adriano V, who died after just 39 days into his pontificate, with a sepulchre made by Arnolfo di Cambio.
Another important funerary monument is the one dedicated to Vicedomino de' Vicedomini who was elected pope but died before being proclaimed so a slab tells his story: "in one day he had both the throne of Peter and the sepulchral stone".
In the church there are also other tombs of cardinals who died during the conclaves that were held in Viterbo when it housed the papacy and the noblewoman Tornabuoni of Florence.
The façade of the church is in local stone of austere appearance with an entrance door inserted in an arch with friezes and three long and narrow openings.
On one side of the façade is a peperino pulpit from which they preached to those outside the church.
This was typical of other places of worship in Viterbo, that was built in 1426 for a visit of San Bernardino da Siena.
Among the other works to be admired is a table from 1572 that depicts the city of Viterbo with the Saints Antonio da Padova and Rosa da Viterbo and a large Gothic-style window in the shape of an ogive (Gothic arch) with a colorful mosaic window, made in 1951.
Like many religious buildings, the church underwent considerable modifications during the 17th century with Baroque additions that were later removed.
In fact the church and the convent were seriously damaged by the bombings of the second world war and in the phase of restoration it was chosen to restore the original medieval Romanesque aspect.
The convent connected to the church was nationalized in 1873 with the Unity of Italy and today houses a barracks that also incorporated the cloister of the convent. For the friars a small side building was built.
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