Convento di San Francesco

The Convent of San Francesco forms part of a complex with a church and the Torre Liparulo in the frazione of San Francesco, on the western slope of Deserto hill in Massa Lubrense. The complex is associated with the Minim order and the town's devotion to Saint Francis of Paola.

Why it matters

Church, convent and tower form a single architectural landmark in the hamlet. The convent's history also reflects the changing civic and religious uses of the building over nearly two centuries.

What to notice

The Torre Liparulo, adapted as a bell tower, anchors the complex. The convent has a square cloister with an upper corridor. In the adjoining church, a polychrome-marble altar and an urn associated with the martyrs of Otranto preserve devotional and artistic layers.

Context and history

The Minim friars were expelled in 1837, and the building was used as a cholera hospital before serving as a district prison and court. Later it housed charitable institutions. The friars returned in 1929. Saint Francis of Paola was proclaimed patron of Massa Lubrense, and the civic administration's offering of a candle on his feast became part of the local observance.