The Ss. Stimmate di San Francesco ("Church of the Holy Stigmata of St. Francis

St. Francis

St. Francis may refer to a number of Roman Catholic saints:*St Francis of Assisi , Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor *St Francis of Paola , Italian founder of the Order of the Minims...

")is a church in central Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, in the Rione Pigna, sited where previously there was a church called Ss. Quaranta Martiri de Calcarario.

A first church in the place was consecrated in 1297. In 1597 the land was given by Pope Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII

Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...

 to the Confraternita delle Ss.Stimmate; the construction a new building was completed in 1714, on designs by Giovanni Battista Contini.

Art and architecture

The facade was designed by Antonio Canevari, in a plan recalling Pietro da Cortona

Pietro da Cortona

Pietro da Cortona, by the name of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, was the leading Italian Baroque painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator...

's style. In the center niche is a statue of the saint receiving the stigmata as he looks heavenward. The ceiling has a Glory of St. Francis by Luigi Garzi

Luigi Garzi

Luigi Garzi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Pistoia, and died in Rome, where he was one of the main pupils of Andrea Sacchi. He is also often referred to as Ludovico Garzi. In 1680 Garzi was appointed Regent of the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon, the papal honor...

, while the first chapel to the right has a Flagellation by Marco Benefial

Marco Benefial

Marco Benefial was an Italian, proto-Neoclassical painter, mainly active in Rome. Benefial is best known for his repudiation of 18th century decorative Rococo styles pre-eminent in the Rome dominated by Carlo Maratta pupils....

 with a cupola frescoed by Giovanni Odazzi

Giovanni Odazzi

Giovanni Odazzi was an Italian painter and etcher of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome.He was a pupil of Ciro Ferri, then worked under the guidance of Giovanni Battista Gaulli. He also worked with Cornelis Bloemaert...

. The main altarpiece is a Saint Francis with stigmata (1719) by Francesco Trevisani

Francesco Trevisani

thumb|250px|Portrait of [[Pietro Ottoboni |Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni]] by Francesco Trevisani. The [[Bowes Museum]], [[Barnard Castle]], [[County Durham]], [[England]]....

. In the first chapel the left is a Ss. Quaranta Martiri (Holy 40 martyrs) by Giacinto Brandi

Giacinto Brandi

Giacinto Brandi was an Italian painter of the Baroque era, active mainly in Rome and Naples.Born in Poli, in the Lazio, he was trained in Rome in the studio of Alessandro Algardi, a noted sculptor, who noted that Brandi was more suited to painting. He joined the studio of Giovanni Giacomo Sementi...

, author of another St. Francis with Stigmata in the Hall of Stimmate.