Global InformationChurch of San Francesco Grande information
| Church of San Francesco Grande | |
|---|---|
 Detail of an engraving showing the church of San Francesco Grande in 1640. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic |
| Location | |
| Location | Church of San Francesco Grande |
| Country | Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | 45/27/50.00/N; 9/10/38.50/E |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Antonio Nuvolone (reconstruction de 1697) |
| Style | Lombard Romanesque and Gothic Architecture (before the 17th century) then Baroque (17th century reconstruction) |
| Demolished | 1806 |
The Church of San Francesco Grande (in Italian: Chiesa di San Francesco Grande) was an ancient church in Milan built in the 4th century and demolished in 1806. It was originally called Basilica di San Nabore after the saint whose remains it houses, but from the 13th century onwards, as the adjoining Franciscan monastery took possession of the monument, it took its new name from Francis of Assisi, founder of the order.
Before the end of the 17th century, the church adopted a rectangular plan. At first, in the part corresponding to the Basilica of Saint Nero, it had a mixture of Lombard Romanesque and Gothic architecture, to which was added a larger part due to the Franciscans. Later, the church continued to grow with the creation of numerous chapels by wealthy donors, who in exchange obtained the right to be buried in sepulchres created by renowned artists. After a first destruction at the end of the 17th century and a reconstruction some ten years later, in 1697, the architectural style of the church became baroque, but its plan remained very close to that of the original building, although it lost ground area.
The church of San Francesco Grande is known for having housed many works by renowned artists such as Bernardino Zenale and Bramante. The most famous work is Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks, which forms the central panel of an altarpiece in a chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
The building was decommissioned by decision of the Cisalpine Republic in 1798, and was definitively destroyed due to its dilapidation in 1806. Until then, it was the second largest church in the city, after the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin - that is, the Duomo of Milan.