Basilica di San Francesco
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The Basilica di San Francesco is a 13th century Bolognese church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, owned by the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Between 1397 and 1402, a new large bell tower was erected on a project by Antonio di Vincenzo. After the arrival of the French (1796), the church was deconsecrated and reduced to a customs house. Between 1886 and 1906, Alfonso Rubbiani supervised a restoration that returned the church to its original appearance but with a heavy rebuilding. The bombings of the Second World War caused further damage and collapse of the complex (facade, vaults and cloister), which was then restored.