Church of São Francisco (Porto)

The main façade of the Franciscan church has a large, elaborate rose window in Gothic style. This is the only original decoration of the main façade. The West portal is now a typical Baroque work, organised in two tiers, with solomonic columns and a statue of St Francis.

The South portal, facing the river, is still Gothic. The portal is stepped forward from the facade and has a triangular gable decorated with a pentagram. The opening is composed of a series of Gothic archivolts; the inner moulding is decorated with an arcade relief of Mudéjar (Islamic influenced) design.

Inner view of the Church of São Francisco, towards the main chapel.

The church has a nave with three aisles, with the central aisle being the highest. The East end of the church has a transept and an apse with three chapels. The crossing area is illuminated by the large windows of the transept arms and main chapel, as well as by a small rose window over the main chapel with tracery in the shape of a pentagram.

A polychrome granite statue (13th century) of Saint Francis of Assisi, standing inside the church next to the entrance within a Baroque altarpiece, is a remnant of the first St Francis church, replaced after 1383 by the present structure.

During the 15th and 16th centuries several noble families chose St Francis as their pantheon. Near the entrance is located the old pantheon for the family of Luís Álvares de Sousa, with an interesting Gothic portal decorated with a coat-of-arms and a dedicatory inscription. The chapel is nowadays occupied by a Baroque altarpiece.

Another interesting chapel is the one dedicated to Saint John the Baptist (São João Baptista), built around 1534 in the right transept arm for the family of João Carneiro. This chapel, by architect Diogo de Castilho, has a beautiful portal and is covered with an intricate rib vaulting in Manueline style. The Baroque altarpiece of the chapel still has the 16th-century painting, representing the Baptism of Christ, incorporated into a Baroque altarpiece. From the same period, the church also has a fine Renaissance tomb, imbedded onto a wall.

Inner view of the Church of São Francisco showing the gilt woodwork of altarpieces, ceiling and columns.

In the early 18th century the lateral aisles and apse chapels were extensively decorated with exuberant gilt wood work (talha dourada) by several Portuguese wood carvers. This decorative richness is the most notable feature of the Franciscan church, covering almost completely the roofs of the aisles, pillars, window frames and chapels and hiding the underlying mediaeval architecture. Even though the Baroque gilt work does not completely harmonise with the Gothic structure of the church, it is considered one of the most outstanding of Portugal.

Among the altarpieces, particularly important is the one that depicts the "Tree of Jesse" on the North lateral aisle. This polychromed woodwork was carved by Filipe da Silva and António Gomes, as stated in a contract of 1718. It represents a family tree of Jesus with twelve kings of Judah connected through branches of the tree to the recumbent body of Jesse. On the top of the tree is Joseph, under an image of the Virgin and the Child. The niches flanking this tree contain statues of St. Anne and St. Joachim (father and mother of Maria) and four Franciscan doctors who wrote about the Immaculate Conception.

Another notable example of gilt wood decoration in Porto is the interior of the Santa Clara Church.

The facade of the church is flanked by interesting monuments like the 18th century, Neoclassical Church of the Ordem Terceira de São Francisco and the Dispatch House of the Order (Casa de Despachos), which houses a museum and has an interesting Baroque interior.