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The
impressive
structure,
which according to the
Offidian historical A.
Rosini, was built a
few years after the
death of St. Francesco,
was a work of the
Franciscan
brothers.
At
the beginning it was a
simple
construction which
was gradually
expanded during the
years.
In
1243
Innocenzo IV
officially made request
to the local
authorities, to obtain
finances necessary to
enlarge the convent,
which became too small
for the needs of the
monks.
The church was
consecrated in
1359, from a
written evidence put on
the side of the
inferior wall, but
during the centuries
it was frequently
restructured.
In
1655, thanks to
the previous
bequests from the
Offidian lawyer
Armellini for the
establishment of a
female monastery, the
Benedictine
nuns moved
there definitively.
The present building
structure conserves the
traces of all the
different stages of
construction, each one
corresponding to a
precise historical
period and
characterised by the
presence of paintings
or entire picturesque
cycles, which enables
to individualize three
fundamental stages:
the first period is
the medieval
construction; the
second is from 1500 to
1600; the third
is from 1700.
The first two phases,
that correspond with
the Franciscan period,
are traceable inside
the convent, where
there are frescoes
by the
Offidian
master,
symbolising cycles
of St. Orsola and
St. Caterina and
the frescoes of the
XVIII century of the
cloister, with numerous
scenes of the life of
St. Antonio.
The third moment
is relevant to the
arrival of the
Benedictines,
regards the external
part of the church.
The
church in baroque
style, was built in
1738 by
Monsignor Paolo
Tommaso Manara,
occupying the central
part of the primitive
Franciscan church and
reusing the building
materials coming from
the ruins of the church
of St. Angelo in
Offida.
Inside there are
three altars,
respectably occupied by
three paintings on
canvas, all of the
XVIII century: on the
higher altar-piece
there is a
representation of the
Addolorata,
surrounded by Saints
Benedetto,
Scolastica,
Marco and Luigi
Gonzaga, work of
Nicola Pannozzi; on the
right altar there is
another work of
Pannozzi, symbolizing
the Immacolata with
Saints Filippo
Neri, Anna,
Antonio and
Gioacchino; the
left altar-piece, work
of Filippo Mondelli,
depicts the Madonna
del Carmine, with
Saints Gertrude,
Apollonia, Mauro and
Placido.
Also a
major relieve is a
polychromic wooden
crucifix, and
reliquary cross of
stone and precious
pearls.
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