Milan
Masterpieces of painting in Lodi
One of the most important historical and artistic heritages in Lombardy, the church of San Francesco was built between 1280-1312 by the Frati Minori supported by Antonio Fissiraga and his wife Flora dei Tresseni.
The church is a typical monastic construction: the tripartite 1300-1307 facade with wide prothyrum remained uncompleted above the marble rose window that stands out against the pinkish ceramic surface.
The 3 nave Latin cross interior is divided by low cylindrical columns and boasts a wonderful collection of frescoes. Pylons, arches and walls are all covered by votive frescoes carried out at the end of the 13th c. and the beginning of the 14th c. for local families who had built the church as a burial place for their family members.
Some of the most important frescoes date from the first phase of construction: the anonymous 'Fissiraga maestro' was responsible for the splendid cross-vault over the transept with the four evangelists and also the paintings in the chapel of the Fissiraga family. Then many decorations and frescoes on the pylons in the nave were the work of the 'Maestro of San Bassiano', so named for the cycle of frescoes in the basilica of Lodivecchio.
Inspired by these works, a school of painting was created in the church that flourished thoughout the 14th c. and made the church one of the highest pictorial expressions of the Middle Ages in Lombardy.
| Neighborhood: | South-east |
| Address: | Piazza San Francesco |
| Lodi, 26900 |
| Phone: | +39 0371420019 |