San Francesco a Ripa

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In the picturesque neighborhood of Trastevere (behind the Tiber) in Rome there is a very important place for the Franciscans and for all those who love this great saint.

Here, in the Church of San Francisco a Ripa, the great saint of Assisi stayed on the days he stayed in Rome to visit the Pope.

Formerly it was a hospice, a Benedictine hospital dedicated to Saint Blaise. It was Francisco's great noble friend, Jacopa de Settesoli, who introduced him to the Benedictines for lodging, and the "poor little thing", as he could, helped the lepers of the hospice during their stays.

It is said that Saint Francis loved Jacopa so much that on his deathbed he had a letter written asking his friend to come and see him with a plate of mostaccioli (his favorite sweets). Was not necessary to. The letter was not even sent because Jacopa was already there with sweets in hand for his great friend.

Perhaps that is why the remains of Jacopa are found opposite those of his great saintly friend, in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Later, the hospice was restructured thanks to the good benefactors, her friend Jacopa and Count Pandolfo dell'Anguillara, becoming the first Franciscan house in Rome.

Over time it underwent different restructurings, due to reforms to expand the church or the convent, or because it suffered attacks during the time of the French Revolution. It went from being a medieval-style church to one that is seen to this day: a baroque-style church.

Of the first structures, only the cell where Saint Francis stayed, which is located behind the sacristy, remains intact.

A small cell with many secrets. The small cell today is a sanctuary with a small altar entirely made of wood with pictures of Saint Francis, Saint Anthony of Padua and Ludovico de Tolosa, which, when rotated with an ingenious mechanism, allow the relics of various Franciscan saints to be appreciated.

The most important thing that remains in the cell is the large stone that the saint of Assisi used to support his head as a pillow.

The church of San Francisco, which bears the name of Ripa because of the port that was nearby -“Ripa Grande”-, preserves very important works of art. The most outstanding is surely a spectacular sculpture of the ecstasy of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, the work of Bernini, which the great artist made when he was already old, at the age of 71.

Ludovica Albertoni was another noble Roman widow who was a Franciscan tertiary, like Jacopa, from whom Saint Francis was inspired for his Third Order.

The remains of the great painter and writer Giorgio de Chirico are also preserved in the church.