St Francis and the High Altar

Let’s now turn our gaze to the presbytery, where the high altar is located. Entirely made of Carrara marble, the altar was built in the early 20th century by Carlo Baraldi from Modena, based on a design by engineer Carlo Barberi. Its slender, graceful lines evoke the soaring forms of medieval 14th-century Gothic style. Above the central tabernacle, we can also admire a precious 18th-century papier-mâché and wood crucifix crafted by local artists.The apse behind the altar hosts the painted altarpiece dedicated to the patron of the church: St Francis of Assisi. The painting, completed in 1830, is the work of Adeodato Malatesta. The artist is remembered as one of the leading figures of 19th-century Modenese art: a pivotal moment between the rigours of Neo-classical painting and the dramatic intensity characteristic of Romanticism.In the work, Francis is depicted in a moment of mystical ecstasy as he undergoes a strict regime of fasting and prayer among the rocks of Mount La Verna in Tuscany, the place he had retired to in 1224.On 17 September of that same year, as shown in the painting, the future saint sees Christ crucified in the guise of a seraph descending from the clouds, whose presence fills the entire heavenly vault with glory. Five rays of light strike him from that sublime apparition , imprinting the stigmata on his body - the marks of the nails and the lance that pierced Jesus. Yet Francis is not alone in bearing the pains of the Passion in his own flesh: in fact, an angel descends from heaven to support the prostrate body of the first stigmatised saint in history. Divine grace never abandons its servant, who becomes a true Alter Christus—another Christ.