St. Francis of Assisi Church, Tempio Pausania

The Church of St. Francis is a place of worship located in Tempio Pausania, on the street of the same name. Consecrated to Catholic worship, it is part of the parish of St. Peter the Apostle, diocese of Tempio-Ampurias.

Built between 1543 and 1548 with a pseudo-Renaissance layout, among the earliest in Sardinia, the church is made entirely of irregular blocks of exposed granite; the façade, with a gabled roof, is marked by two pilasters with a centered round-headed portal in the center, surmounted by a rectangular window, also centered. Above, in a central position, a large granite cross rests on the roof slopes.

The interior has a single nave covered with a barrel vault and reinforced by sub-arches that divide it into four bays overlooked by as many chapels on each side also with barrel vaults. The chancel, which is quadrangular, is raised one step above the floor of the hall.

Externally, the church is flanked by three buttresses on each side, and attached to the rear is a building belonging to the Observant Friars Minor used first as a convent, then as a prison, a hospital and finally as a school. The entire complex has been undergoing restoration for several decades.

Every year during the Christmas season, the church hosts an exhibition of nativity scenes that are set up in the side chapels.