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 called 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 added Baroque elements that covered the original Romanesque features. A plaque mounted on the facade informs that the church, semi-destroyed by Allied bombings on January 17, 1944, was rebuilt by the Lazio Monuments Authority and reopened to the public in April 1953: the reconstruction works led to the complete removal of Baroque elements and the restoration of the ancient Romanesque structure.
Of particular historical interest is the adjoining convent, today the seat of the military district of Viterbo, which has hosted, throughout its history, various saints, popes, and emperors; until the expropriation of 1873 it was the seat of the Franciscan theological university.
The Basilica of San Francesco alla Rocca has been run for many decades by the Conventual Friars Minor (O.F.M.Conv.). The facade 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); higher up are three single-light windows and a rose window.
The original Romanesque facade 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 of Saint Bernardino of Siena. The church is flanked by a bell tower with a bell dated 1259.
