Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

In 1471, a small community of Observant friars chose an area of woods in Terni where a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Grace stood as the location for their new convent with a church attached.

A spring also flowed there, near which, according to tradition, some miracles had occurred. Papal authorisation for the construction of the convent complex on this site was granted to the Franciscans in September 1472. They were therefore able to begin construction work, which was completed at the end of the 15th century. Until the last decades of the 19th century, the church housed works of considerable artistic value, such as the "Crucifixion and Saint Francis" by Giovanni di Pietro, also known as Lo Spagna, which served as a background to a wooden crucifix from the second half of the 15th century and "Christ Crucified between Saints Francis and Bernardino of Siena" by Niccolò di Liberatore, known as the Pupil.

Following the suppression of convents and congregations decreed after the Unification of Italy, these works of art became the property of the Municipality of Terni and are now housed in the "Aurelio De Felice" Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

From the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie also comes the fresco attributed to Piermatteo d'Amelia depicting the "Madonna with Child between Saints Francis of Assisi and Bernardino of Siena". The painting adorned the lunette above the central portal, from where it was later removed. The original was recently replaced by a painting with the same figures. The architrave above the portal also bears the monogram of Christ, a symbol of Saint Bernardine.

The interior of the church is characterised by cross-vaulted ceilings, richly decorated with swirls and features frescoes and paintings, some of which were repainted during the restoration in the 1950s, including those by Cesare Sermei (first half of the 17th century).

The cloister, with the original well from 1484 in the centre, consists of small arches arranged on two levels, with the lower lunettes depicting episodes from the life of Saint Francis. At certain times, the convent complex was used as a leper hospital, a military hospital and a hospice for the poor and finally, it was converted into a retirement home for the elderly in the last century.

Recently, the church (entrusted to the Confraternity of "St Joseph and St Francis of Paola”) underwent restoration work, allowing its use once again. This place of worship is surrounded by a magnificent park on the edge of a centuries-old forest

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