San Francesco alle Scale

[1] Sited at the top of a staircase leading to the eponymous square, the church was founded in 1323 by the Franciscans, and was originally dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore.

In 1454, the Dalmatian master Giorgio da Sebenico executed the portal, inspired to the late Gothic one of the Porta della Carta in the Ducal Palace of Venice.

In the 18th century the church was raised and enlarged by design of architect Francesco Maria Ciaraffoni, who also built the two annexed monastery and the two cloisters.

Above the portal is a Gothic lunette with a bas-relief of St. Francis receiving the Stigmata and, above it, a shell supporting a hexagonal baldachin.

Media related to San Francesco alle Scale (Ancona) at Wikimedia Commons