140 Turin, Italy, San Francisco de Paola. Heroic self-mortification, innit?

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Fabulous confessional, makes you want to get some good sins in. And there is one of those pulpits-in-the-wall which I really like.

This is a Baroque seventeenth-century church with multi-coloured marble, dedicated to Saint Francis of Paola, also known as Francis the Fire Handler, a vegetarian who founded a monastic order of hermits in the colder days of the fifteenth century. I am not making any of this up.

In this saint’s view, heroic self-mortification was the key habit to get into. He was with King Louis XI of France when the king died, and probably had a few words to say to him.

The interior decoration was partly done by Tommaso Calone, including the holy water container at the entrance so people can cross themselves. And there is a well-known painting of the Passing of Saint Joseph. Now, Saint Joseph’s death is not mentioned in the Gospels, but some have assumed that he was taken body and soul into heaven, being such a saintly geezer.





















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