Churches & Places of Worship

Bellegra Ingresso convento San Francesco

The story goes that St. Francis convent in Bellegra was founded in 1223 directly by Saint Francis on an old farm structure of the Benedictine monks.

Francis was on his way to visit the Sacro Speco when he was struck by the peace and beauty of Bellegra countryside, with the green of chestnut and beech trees.

Here he rested in a small farmhouse that then was donated by Benedictines and on which he founded the small monastery.

Inside a museum was established with historical artifacts from the life of the community.

The convent is also known by the name of 'Nest of the Saints' because here have passed about forty monks who later became saints.

Among these they remember the three anonymous thieves converted directly by Saint Francis, plus Blessed Thomas of Cori and St. Theophilus of Corte.
 

Bellegra Chiesa San Sisto 1 interno

This modern church of San Sisto in Bellegra was built in reinforced concrete in 1972 after the demolition of a former temple of 1500.

It is located in the main square of the town next to the massive city walls.

Bellegra-Chiesa San Nicola by Benedicta Lee

The church of St. Nicholas in Bellegra dates from 1200 and was originally dedicated to Saint Lucia.

The current building was renovated around the turn of the seventeenth century and its interior is a single nave with four side niches.

The roof is a barrel vault with windows that illuminate the interior decorated with stucco.

Above the central altar there is a painting depicting the saint and the picture is framed by decorative elements in marble that recall the forms of a greek temple.

Bellegra chiesa santa lucia

The chapel of Saint Lucia is a small private temple built in the classic eighteenth-century style that recalls the Greek temples.

It is located in the centre of town of Bellegra, at the highest point.

The chapel was built in 1756.

It has a single room with a central altar and a painting of Saint Lucia with other saints.

The church of Santa Maria de Jesus was built in Artena around 1620 at the behest of Cardinal Borghese.

The church has a nave, rectangular layout and ends with the presbytery and the choir in walnut.

It has five altars: the high altar, decorated with stucco, is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, to the Blessed Virgin and St. Anne.

The other altars, all enriched by paintings by Vincenzo Manenti are dedicated to Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony of Padua, St. Clare and St. Elizabeth of Portugal.

On the walls are placed fourteen paintings representing the stations of the cross.  It is the only Artena church with a pipe organ.

The church Santa Maria of Jesus is part of a Franciscan convent, which was also home to two schools, a theology school for the religious and a philosophy school for the secular.

It has a rich library founded by the theologian and philosopher Father Jerome of Montefortino (Artena).

The cloister is square with seven arches on each side and niches decorated with paintings of the seventeenth century, at whose centre is placed a large cistern.
 

The church of the Rosary is located at the beginning of the town of Artena.

It was built at the behest of Orinzia Colonna probably on a pre-existing religious building, and was consecrated in 1591.

The plan is a Latin cross and is enriched by eleven altars adorned with seventeenth century paintings.

On the high altar there is a painting of the Virgin of the Rosary, dating back to the sixteenth century, that has been recently restored.

Also interesting are the paintings dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi by Orazio, being the work of a local painter of the 1600s.

The exact date of foundation of the church of St Stephen in Artena is not known.

The style of the bell tower, with its elegant windows, suggests that it goes back to the thirteenth century.

It is situated in the middle of the town and after a fire, which occurred in 1557, and its subsequent abandonment.

It was restored by Camilla Orsini Borghese, wife of Marcantonio Borghese.

The church of the Holy Cross is one of the most symbolic and ancient churches of Artena.

It is situated in the highest part of the town and it can be reached only on foot.

It was built in 1100, but after being struck by lightning, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1659 by Prince Don Giovanni Battista Borghese.

Of baroque style, it is the work of Domenico Terzago. It is 26.5 meters long and 11.5 metres wide. In addition to the main altar, it has six chapels.

The main facade faces north and its majestic and noble architecture is visible from far away with thanks to the presence of the two bell towers.