The Basilica of St Bernardino all'Osservanza

Oratory of Saint Bernardino

After a seventeenth-century restoration, Saint Bernardino’s cell, which at that time was on the upper floor of the friary, was placed in the crypt where it remained until 1939, when it was recreated in the areas that currently house the so-called “Oratory of Saint Bernardino”. This is where the tunic the Saint wore in his travels and the tablet with the JHS monogram that he used to display to his listeners during his sermons were kept. Both items have been transferred to the nearby Museum. In the first room of the Oratory there is a letter signed by Saint James of the Marche, a contemporary painting on board by Enzo Cesarini and, above the kneeling stool, a clay sculpture of Saint Bernardino Preaching, probably a copy of what was to be part of the Lamentation Over the Dead Christ group by Giacomo Cozzarelli, preserved in the sacristy. This first room gives access to a second one with an altar, on which stands a fifteenth-century bust of Saint Bernardino, whose style is reminiscent of that of Lorenzo di Pietro, also known as il Vecchietta and taken from the church’s façade.