Chapel VII - Pope Innocent III approves the Franciscan rule

In a quiet corner of Italy, a Baroque chapel rises on flat ground, its plan an elegant ellipse. The entrance faces southeast, leading into a portico and a single, deep apsidal niche. The building’s volume is a prism on an elliptical base, topped by a lantern of matching shape, a characteristic flourish of the period. The roof is of local beola stone, laid in false purlins, while the rubble masonry is rendered smooth with plaster. Inside, the space commemorates a pivotal moment: Pope Innocent III approving the Franciscan rule. The scene is part of a larger cycle, painted with the vivid, stylised forms typical of Byzantine-influenced art, though the chapel itself is unmistakably Baroque. The contrast is deliberate, a later frame for an earlier, world-changing event.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.