Saint Paul the Apostle in 1400s Piedmontese Late Gothic fresco cycle. Immediately below quadripartite ceiling vault in the church of the former Franciscan convent of San Francesco at Susa, Piedmont, Italy.
Susa, Piedmont, Italy: Saint Paul the Apostle looks down with an enigmatic smile from a damaged but still colourful fresco painted in the 15th century on a ceiling vault of the church of the former Franciscan convent of San Francesco di Susa. St Paul is depicted with his fellow Apostle, St Peter, below a quadripartite vault in which the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are depicted at desks, writing their gospels while sitting on elaborate thrones. According to legend, the church was built after St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan monastic order, visited Susa as he journeyed to France in 1214. St Francis is said to have stayed there as a guest of Beatrice of Geneva, wife of Tommaso I, Count of Savoy, and to have given her the sleeve of his cassock in exchange for land on which to build a convent. A sleeve said to be the one he gave Beatrice is preserved as a relic in the church of the Capuchin Friars Minor in Annecy, France. The former convent is the earliest building in Piedmont to be dedicated to St Francis. It was supressed and used as a warehouse during the Napoleonic era, but was regained by Franciscan friars in 1899. They finally left in 2007 and the convent buildings are now used as a guesthouse for modern travellers following the ancient Via Francigena Christian pilgrimage route from Canterbury in England to Rome, via France, the alpine Moncenisio Pass and the Val di Susa.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Susa, Piedmont, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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