The Church  of S. Francesco alle Scale overlooks the irregular-shaped piazza with the same name form a top a flight of steps, creating a lovely scene. The original church and annexed convent date from 1323 and were the work of Franciscans, who dedicated the Church to Santa Maria Maggiore. At the beginning of 1400 the convent was enlarged and a monumental staircase was simultaneously built from the street below that gave access directly to the church. The grand portal was created by Giorgio Orsini, from Dalmatia, known as Giorgio da Sebenico (1454) who was inspired by the Gothic style. The same artist created the statues and reliefs in 1454. The portal is enclosed by two pillars, decorated with Statues of Saints, which support a grand baldachin that culminates in a flourish of pinnacles. One of the most expressive aspects is the series of twenty heads 8including two leonines) that adorn the jamb and architrave. Some scholars wanted to see Dante, Petrarca, Laura, Boccaccio. In the annex San Francesco, laterally Sant'Antonio da Padova e San Lodovico da Tolosa San Bernardino from Siena and Santa Chiara below. Major restructuring work, was carried out from 1777 to 1790 by Francesco Maria Ciaraffoni, by raising the facade. Next it was expropriated and used for military purposes and as a hospital during Napoleon’s reign (1789) The Church was restored and reopened in 1953, and then again following the earthquake in 1972. The most recent restoration work returned the Church interior with a single nave,to the way it looked in the 18th century . In terms of art, of note are the plaster Gloria by Gioacchino Varlè on the main altar, the Battesimo di Cristo by Pellegrino Tibaldi on the first altar on the right, the Holy House of Loreto and the Saints by Andrea Lilli on the opposite altar, and especially, the grand canvas by Lorenzo Lotto in the apse, depicting the Assumption, originally painted in 1550, but repainted in the 18th century.