St. Francis Museum – San Marino is home to various works of art that are part of the heritage of the old Franciscan monastery in the city as well as several other Franciscan monasteries and churches around the Republic of San Marino.
Location
St. Francis Museum – San Marino is located at Via Basilicus, San Marino City. It is annexed to the old Franciscan monastery in town.
Getting There
You can fly in via the Federico Fellini International Airport as this is the closest international airport to the city. From here, there are buses that regularly ply the route going directly to the city of San Marino.
What to See
St. Francis Museum – San Marino has two galleries, the Lower Loggia and the Upper Loggia.
Within the Lower Loggia, you can find several religious artifacts and paintings. The most interesting painting in this section of St. Francis Museum – San Marino is the fresco by Antonio Alberti depicting the Three Kings paying homage to the Infant Jesus.
The fresco was completed some time between the years 1430 and 1437 and was originally made for the altar dedicated to the Three Kings in the town’s Franciscan monastery.
Also of particular interest is a chest which is believed to have been used by the Franciscan monastery some time in the seventeenth century.
The most interesting aspect of this chest is that it can only be opened by inserting three different keys simultaneously on its locks. The keys were kept by three different key-keepers.
Brief History
The building that is now home to St. Francis Museum – San Marino was believed to have been constructed in 1361. The project was undertaken by the Comacine masters.
Evidence of this can be found on stone walls where carvings of symbols can be found. There is also an inscription on the entrance to the building.
The building underwent several restorations and renovations due to safety concerns. The St. Francis Museum – San Marino was formally opened to the public in 1966.
Cost
Entry to St. Francis Museum – San Marino is at €3 per person. If you are visiting in groups of 25 or more, you pay only half the price making it €1.50 per person.
For visiting the museum together with the Government Building or the Palazzo Pubblico, you pay only an entry fee of €3.00 for both.
Other Information
From the 20th of March up to the 20th of September, St. Francis Museum – San Marino is open from 8 in the morning up to 8 in the evening. From the 21st of September up to the 19th of March, the museum is open from 8:50 in the morning up to 5 in the afternoon.
The museum is open everyday except on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and the afternoon of November 2.
