Churches and Convent

Walking through narrow alleys and stairways, you will reach splendid sacred buildings that preserve part of Pietrapertosa's precious heritage, including the Mother Church of San Giacome, the Chapel of the Madonna del Rosario, the Chapel of S. Rocco, the Chapel of Purgatory, the Chapel of San Cataldo and the Convent of San Francesco d'Assisi.

Convent of St. Francis of Assisi

The Convent of St. Francis of Assisi is surrounded by greenery and embellished with numerous works of art, organised around a square cloister. Founded in 1474, on the western side the convent features a single-nave church with a wooden truss roof and a square-plan presbytery with a cross vault ceiling. The pride of the temple is the valuable polyptych, attributed to the Campania artist Giovanni Luce.

In the nave, you can admire other works of fine craftsmanship, including a painting of the Apparition of the Child to St. Anthony of Padua (1631) attributed to the Lucanian artist Giovanni De Gregorio, known as “Il Pietrafesa”, one of the leading exponents of Lucanian pictorial culture between late Mannerism and Baroque, whose numerous works are scattered throughout the churches and convents of the region.

The Immaculate Conception by Francesco Guma (1628) is also very beautiful. The choir loft, carved entirely from wood (16th century), is also of great artistic value.

The Mother Church of San Giacomo Maggiore

The Mother Church of San Giacomo Maggiore, dating back to the 15th century, has recently been restored. The temple houses several valuable works of art.
In particular, the church is a treasure trove of numerous examples of Lucanian art dating from the 15th to the 18th century, such as the two frescoes by the Campanian painter Giovanni Luce depicting the Last Judgement and the Christological Series. The two paintings depicting the Beheading of John the Baptist (1606), a Madonna del Carmine with Child between Saints John the Baptist and Francis, and a painting on wood depicting the Eternal Blessing belong to Pietro Antonio Ferro from Lucania.

The original structure is Romanesque and has been preserved in the massive appearance of the walls, which have been restored to their original stone state during recent renovations in order to restore the church to its ancient medieval solemnity. The pure Romanesque style, which has remained unchanged over time, can also be seen in the imposing bell tower, which is supported at its base by a large arch crossed by Via Vittorio Emanuele, which runs alongside the church.
Inside, there is also a 16th-century wooden choir, an underground crypt and an 18th-century wooden confessional.