La Basilica of San Francesco alla Rocca was built starting in 1237, on land that Pope Gregory IX had donated to the Franciscans, and the preexisting Palazzo known as the Alemanni, dating back to 1208, was incorporated into the convent complex adjacent to the church.
The building was restored during the 16th century and again in the 17th century. These renovations brought Baroque additions that covered the original Romanesque elements. A plaque embedded in the façade informs that the church, partially destroyed by Allied bombings on January 17, 1944, was rebuilt by the Lazio Superintendence of Monuments and reopened to the public in April 1953: the reconstruction work led to the complete removal of the Baroque elements and the restoration of the ancient Romanesque structure.
Of particular historical interest is the adjoining convent, today the seat of the Viterbo military district, which has hosted various saints, popes, and emperors throughout its history; until the 1873 expropriation, it was the seat of the Franciscan theological university.
The Basilica of San Francesco alla Rocca has been administered for many decades by the Conventual Minor Friars (O.F.M.Conv.). The façade features a Romanesque portal with twisted columns; above the portal are the insignia of Pope Pius XII, who granted the church the title of “minor basilica” (1949); above that are three single-light windows and an oculus.
The original Romanesque façade also had a portico and was decorated with various frescoes. At the right corner, there is a hexagonal pulpit, erected in 1428 in memory of the preaching in Viterbo by Saint Bernardino of Siena. The church is flanked by a bell-gable, with a bell dated 1259.
