Temple of St. Francis
Description
The Temple of St. Francis is a Catholic place of worship in Gaeta, located in the historic center of the city. It belongs to the parish that includes the Cathedral of Saints Erasmus and Marcianus and St. Mary of the Assumption. The frescoes in the temple were painted by Vincenzo Petrocelli and Domenico Morelli.
The church was built beginning in 1283, through donations from Charles II of Anjou, as a place of worship attached to a convent founded by Francis of Assisi in 1222; in the second half of the 1850s it was radically restored in neo-Gothic style to a design by Giacomo Guarinelli, through the involvement of Pope Pius IX and funding from Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies.
The building is located on the slope of Mount Orlando facing the Gulf of Gaeta, in a dominant position over the city's historic center; it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the city cathedral because of its scenic location and elaborate architecture.