The lasting influence of St. Francis
of Assisi and the harmonious and mystical countryside
all contribute to the town's significance as a stopping
place on a spiritual itinerary.
Cortona is associated with both St.
Francis and the early days of the Franciscan movement.
The Le Celle Hermitage was in fact the first convent
founded by the saint when he first visited the town
in 1211. Clinging to the side of Mt. St. Egidio, it
was also the temporary abode of other Franciscan brothers
- Friar Elia Coppi, St. Bonadventure, and St. Anthony
of Padua. The convent is indicated by a sign and left-hand
side road about halfway along the main road that follows
the town walls and continues to the church of St. Margherita.
The Church of St. Francis. Climbing
Via Maffei one suddenly comes face to face with the
church's impressive façade. Begun in 1245 by
Friar Elia Coppi, one of St. Francis' companions and
second-in-command within the Order, this Gothic church
with its great rose window has slender and elegant mullioned
side and apsidal windows. Inside is an Annunciation,
the last work of Pietro Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona,
XVII century).
The Sanctuary of St. Margherita.
At one of the town's highest points, in a large piazza
with a splendid panoramic view of the Valdichiana, Mt.
Amiata, Mt.Cetona and Lake Trasimeno, stands the basilica
of St. Margherita (1247-1297), a local saint famed for
her dramatic conversion and altruistic dedication to
the poor and sick. The present church is the outcome
of a series of alterations to a XIII century oratory.
Between 1858 and 1897 the old church was virtually completely
replaced by the present church.
Of the earlier architecture only the
rose window by Giovanni Pisano in the front façade,
the bell tower (XVII century) and the walls of the choir
remain. The saint's body is on view on the main altar
in a casket designed by Pietro Berrettini (XVII century).
On the right hand altar is a XIII century wooden crucifix
from which, legend says, Christ spoke to Margherita.
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