San Francesco d'Assisi

A treasure trove of Renaissance and baroque sculptures in Palermo

This medieval church, with a 1302 sawtooth-designed portal and rose window on the facade, gives you a good compare-contrast overview of the Gagini clan of sculptors.

The second chapel on the right has a relief of St. George and the Dragon by Antonello Gagini (1526). (There's a light switch on the right side of the chapel to illuminate it.)

The third chapel has a Madonna by Antonio Gagini (light switch to the left).

The gated fourth chapel has a sarcophagus by Domenico Gagini, who also did the excellent tomb of Antonio Speciale near the end of the left aisle (next to the sacristy door) as well as both the Madonna and Child with St. Johnand the relief of the Madonnain the first chapel on the left aisle.

Other Sicilian masters contributed to the church's decor, starting with eight states by 18th-century stucco master Serpotta—four against the entrance wall, four against the central piers—representing the Seven Virtues (I like "Humility" with a bird on her head) plus "Theology."

The 1520 choir stalls behind the altar are beautifully carved and inlaid, and the forth chapel on the left aisle has the first significant Renaissance work in Italy, an arch sculpted by Francesco Laurana and Pietro da Bonitate in 1468.

Next door to the church is Serpotta’s Oratorio of San Lorenzo.

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