Memorial Monument to Saint Francis by Pietro Battoni

The Journey Begins Here

Saint Francis’s transformation into ‘Saint Francis’ began right here in Foligno. In the lively medieval marketplace of Piazza della Repubblica, he sold both cloth and his horse to raise funds for the restoration of the church of San Damiano in Assisi.

Monumento alla memoria di San Francesco di Pietro Battoni

It was in this square that a voice, first heard by the young Francis in the church, called him to leave behind the privileges of his wealthy merchant upbringing. This life-changing moment set him on the path to becoming the ‘poor man of Assisi’ we revere today. Stumbling upon this monument offers an opportunity to reflect on our own relationship with material possessions.

Designed by Benedetta Galli, 2024

The Big Dipper
Engraving and slate enamel on composite travertine
cm 55x55x3

The work recalls the constellation Ursa Major and develops around the relationship between the monuments and architecture scattered across the urban landscape. Each star is connected to the next according to an astronomy of form that symbolises the order and harmony in which the city is immersed.
Almost all Umbrian villages live in an ancient space that often has not known significant transformations for centuries; in these contexts, contemporaneity insinuates itself and works when the work is conceived not only through analogies with the environment, but also through divergences and necessary actualisations. Indeed, one lives in the city, not only between earth and sky (stars), but also between Google Earth and the Cloud (QR code).

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The poor man of Assisi giving a blessing

The Saint on horseback

Hands outstretched, offering cloth

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