Chiesa di San Francesco di Paternopoli

The Church of San Francesco (Saint Francis) in Paternopoli is located on the street of the same name, in the historic centre of the irpinian town.

It was built in the 16th century within the village walls, on the initiative of the Franciscan order, who established the Congregation of the Dead there, and was then restored in the 18th century. The Church is built with a load-bearing masonry structure in stone, according to a rectangular layout with a single hall without an apse. The roof has two pitches, covered in brickwork and a wooden truss structure. The flooring, like that of the sacristy, is in terracotta.

The building stands in a compact, concentrated square block between other buildings, parts of which contain the annexes of the sacristy. Given its particular position, the Church has no real front façade and the side serves as the main façade of the building. The structural arrangement is extremely simple, with its surface plastered and painted in cream. The visual uniformity is interrupted by the entrance in an extremely decentralised position, preceded by two stone steps and surrounded by a double-framed doorway in blocks of light stone with a one-piece architrave, surmounted by a protruding moulded cornice, likewise in stone but in a contrasting colour. Valuable artefacts are kept inside, such as the marble altar and the painting depicting Our Lady of Consolation with Saint Augustine and Saint Monica. Previously, the Church also housed an 18th-century wooden choir, which was sold by the confraternity to pay for the floor to be resurfaced.

Today, the Church is not usable for religious functions, but it still contributes to enriching the artistic heritage of the Paternopoli community.