Ruins of the Church of Saint Francis

The former church of Saint Francis of Paola, initially dedicated to the Madonna della Raccomandata, was built at the wishes of Roger the Norman between the end of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth century. Its location, in the higher part of the historic centre, is particularly suggestive, at a short distance from where once stood, until the beginning of the 1970s, a door to the ancient fortress named “Salvaporto”. The beautiful portal on which the votive emblem of “Agnus Dei” stands out, adopted by Roger the Norman and embedded between two slender twisted columns, is particularly worth noting. The church is made up of a single rectangular space. The perimeter walls are still those of the Norman era, of which the lower part is made predominantly in juxtaposed limestone ashlars. The two smaller walls, topped with triangular gables, give the impression of an original pointed roof.