The Church of San Francesco vecchio or “dentro le mura” (i.e. inside the walls) was built in 1385 after the destruction of the Church of San Francesco outside the walls, that took place during the war of Chioggia.
This beautiful church was built inside the walls of the city and it hosted the Friars Minor in the neighbouring monastery. Nevertheless, the friars moved to the old monastery after the rebuilding of the church outside the walls of the town in 1434. From the 16th century, the convent of San Francesco housed Cistercian Benedictine nuns. For this reason, the place was popularly known as “delle Muneghette” (i.e. the Little Nuns). The convent is currently used for the offices of the State Police.
In the inside of the church you can find a lot of high-level artworks like the paintings “S. Francesco d’Assisi in estasi” (18th century) and “S. Francesco d’Assisi con la croce” (17th century), the last attributed to Van Dyck. Furthermore, the remarkably interesting ceiling frescos (Il trionfo della SS. Trinità and Scene della vita di San Francesco e San Benedetto) were painted by a follower of Tiepolo, Michele Schiavone.
