San Francesco alle Scale 🇮🇹

Sited at the top of a staircase leading to an eponymous square in Ancona, central Italy, San Francesco alle Scale is a historic church you will want to explore. Founded by the Franciscans in 1323 as Santa Maria Maggiore, it took its current name in the mid-15th century. As you approach, you will be struck by its magnificent 1454 portal crafted by Dalmatian master Giorgio da Sebenico.

Inspired by Venice's late Gothic Porta della Carta, this façade features an ornate frame adorned with twenty heads, tall pilasters holding saint statues in niches, and a Gothic lunette portraying St. Francis receiving the Stigmata under a hexagonal baldachin. Inside, you can discover a beautiful single-nave, 18th-century style interior—a result of enlargements designed by architect Francesco Maria Ciaraffoni, who also built two annexed monastery structures and cloisters.

Having served as a hospital and Civic Museum over the centuries before its restoration and reopening in 1953, the church now offers visitors an impressive collection of masterworks. During your visit, be sure to see Pellegrino Tibaldi’s Baptism of Christ, Gioacchino Varlè’s chalk Glory, Andrea Lillio’s Angels Carrying the Holy House of Loreto, and Lorenzo Lotto’s large Assumption altarpiece.

What to see at San Francesco alle Scale

• The 1454 Gothic portal designed by Dalmatian master Giorgio da Sebenico
• Lorenzo Lotto's large Assumption altarpiece inside the single-nave interior
• Pellegrino Tibaldi's Baptism of Christ and Gioacchino Varlè's chalk Glory
• The historic staircase leading to the church, rebuilt in the 1920s
• The 18th-century bell tower, rebuilt in 1953 after Allied bombardment

Visiting tips

Take time to closely examine the main portal's ornate frame, which features twenty carved heads and four saint statues in its side pilaster niches.

How long: 1-2 hours · Best time: Daytime

How to get there & what’s nearby

San Francesco alle Scale is easy to reach on Ancona’s public transport, and pairs naturally with cathedral Basilica of St. Cyriacus. For where to stay, the weather and full itineraries, see our Ancona travel guide.