Former Convent of San Bernardino

Start of the convent construction site

On September 14th, 1454, with the papal bull issued by Nicholas V, construction work began on the convent complex of S. Bernardino in Erbusco.

Entrustment to the Amadeites and first offices in Brescia

In 1465, the convent was entrusted to the Order of the Amadeite Fathers, a branch of the Friars Minor, whose name derived from its founder, the Portuguese Amadeus Mendez de Sylva. Since the order had been founded only the previous year, the convent of San Bernardino is considered among the first sites assigned to the Amadeites in the Brescia area.

The church today and its original appearance in the fresco of St. Giuseppe

Today, the church, which stands in the center of the cemetery, features an 18th-century appearance, with a two-story façade and a temple pediment. Its original appearance is captured in a fresco in the cloister of San Giuseppe in Brescia, which depicts all the Franciscan convents in the Brescia area. In the fresco, the Erbusco convent is depicted as it would have appeared at its founding, with a much lower building than its current form: a single-hall church with a gabled façade, introduced by a portico and adorned with a rose window. The church once had a bell tower, and on the south side were the cloister and adjoining quarters for the friars, now completely lost.

The 2007 restorations and the frescoes of the portico

Restoration work in 2007 brought to light a series of frescoes in the portico and on the south wall of the church’s nave, dating from the 15th to the early 16th century. These frescoes are the most striking evidence of the original foundation: the portico with its Tuscan columns revealed two beautiful Crucifixions flanked by Saints. Particularly interesting are the depictions of cows and horses, votive offerings that testify to a world dominated by the rhythms of the countryside and the need to place those animals, indispensable to agricultural work, under divine protection.

Patrons, press and figure of Bernardino da Siena

Inside the church, the right wall features an interesting panel, where the patrons pray to the Virgin and Child next to a depiction of a wine press, particularly significant in an area characterized by grape cultivation and wine production. This is flanked by the figure of the Franciscan reformer Bernardino of Siena, with the Book of the Gospels open in his left hand, while in his right hand he holds the trigram, the symbol he carried imprinted on a tablet usually displayed in the place where he preached.

The martyrdom of Simonino of Trento and its iconographic diffusion

Another highly significant panel is the martyrdom of Simonino of Trento. Particularly dear to the Franciscan order, a symbol of their preaching against Jewish pawn shops in favor of the newly established Monti di Pietà, the image of the alleged martyr quickly spread throughout the Brescia area, particularly in Valle Camonica, Lake Sebino, and the Franciacorta area.