There is no certainty about when the Franciscans arrived in Iglesias: according to one theory they were already present at the time of the Pisan domination, while others think that they arrived after the power was seized by the Aragonese Crown (1324), which imposed the religious order it preferred on the city. In both theories, the first building of the Church of San Francesco, one of the main examples of Gothic-Catalan architecture in Sardinia, must have emerged later. It is not even clear whether or not it was constructed on pre-existing Benedictine structures. In any case, the present-day building is a 16th-century renovation, with subsequent interventions that did not change its general appearance. A few engravings of decorative elements are helpful in confirming its origin: a capital and a holy water font show the date 1558, while the year 1584 appears in the chapels on the sides of the presbytery.

On the gabled façade, made of red trachyte ashlars, you will notice two oculi and a rose window, in line with the entrance portal, decorated with jambs in bundles and monolithic architraves with a pointed relieving arch. The interior has a single nave, divided into seven bays, with a wooden roof. Various capitals bear coats of arms and inscriptions: in addition to the year of installation (or completion of the works), you will notice the coat of arms of the Franciscan order (two crossed arms) and of the Iglesiente municipality in the Spanish period. The apse is narrower and lower than the nave, closed by an ‘umbrella-shaped’ vault. On the sides of the nave, seven chapels open up per side and it has been suggested that the third on the left dates back to the original fourteenth-century church building, because it is very different from the others: the entrance arch is smaller and the roof, with a cross vault, is plastered. On the back wall of a room added to the first chapel on the left, you can admire the Retable of San Francesco, a work attributed to Antioco Mainas, a painter from Cagliari of the Stampace school. The altarpiece was painted in tempera and oil around 1560 and has the double triptych pattern, with a five-compartment predella. Among the scenes painted in the compartments, there is the Crucifixion, a Madonna and the Stoning of Saint Stephen.

Iglesias already has Catalan-Aragonese traits in its name, which continue to appear in the city’s traditions, such as the Easter Holy Week rituals, particularly during the processions of the Mysteries. Another event not to be missed, in mid-August, is the medieval historical parade. Among the monuments, the Castle of Salvaterra, built by the Pisans, and the Cathedral of Santa Chiara, dating back to the Middle Ages, stand out. For over a century, the Iglesiente area was the centre of the historical mining period, while today it is part of the Geo-mining Park of Sardinia. In addition to the city museums, you can visit the mine of Monteponi and the mining sites along the coast of Nebida and Masua, among which the spectacular tunnel of Porto Flavia.