What can now be seen of this church, consecrated in 1291, is the result of numerous successive modifications. The original Gothic structure has been preserved: a Latin cross plan with a single nave, crowned by an apse with three polygonal chapels. The interior decoration, on the other hand, was completely redesigned in the Baroque style between 1707, 1718 and 1727. The large entrance portal was also added in 1731, when the original Gothic portal was dismantled to build an altar inside the church.
The building is located in Via Albizzini (a short distance from Palazzo Albizzini and Palazzo Vitelli in Sant’Egidio) and in the bottom left corner houses the beautiful Cappella Vitelli, built to a design drawn up by Vasari in 1563. The large table depicting “L’incoronazione della Vergine” (The coronation of the Virgin), is attributable to the same year and the same author, and was commissioned by Gentilina Della Staffa Vitelli, mother of Paolo and Chiappino, who were buried in the chapel with Nicolò Vitelli also known as the ‘Father of the Homeland’ (“Padre della Patria”).
Vasari’s masterpiece is safeguarded by a majestic wrought iron gate, built in 1567 by a native of Città di Castello, the master craftsman Pietro Ercolani.
On the altar dedicated to San Giuseppe stands a painting called “Lo Sposalizio della Vergine” (The Marriage of the Virgin), (1504), a copy of the famous work by Raphael. The original was kept in Città di Castello until it was transferred to the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan in 1805.
Another very important work that was found in the church of S. Francesco was “L’adorazione dei pastori” (The Adoration of the Shepherds), painted by Luca Signorelli in 1496 and now on display at the National Gallery in London.