Church of San Francisco

The Church of St. Francis, or San Francisco, dates back to the 14th Century. It was rebuilt in the 15th Century, collapsed in 1593 and rebuilt again in 1598.. Books refer to this as the best example of Gothic-Catalan architecture in Sardinia.

The statues on the alter are for Madonna with Saint Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua.

Go through the church, and to the left of the alter there is a doorway that takes you into the small Romanesque cloisters with 22 columns.

The cloisters are not open the same hours as the church, and in June 2012 when we visited the cloisters the hours were 9:45 - 12:00 and 4:30 - 6:30. There are two levels but there is no public access from the church to the second level. The upper level dates from the 18th Century. The arch ways of the base level are a series of alternating columns and octagonal pillars. Most of the carvings of the capitals have eroded away over the years.

The plans placed along the ways of the lower level give the cloister a nice garden feel.

From the cloisters there is a hallway that leads to a small chapel at the base of the tower.