Rione S. Antonio is a part of the contrada Capo di Croce. It takes its name from the Saint celebrated every year on 13 June with a solemn procession, during which his statue is carried on the shoulders of the faithful through the streets of the town, also crossing a stretch by sea from Atrani to the beach of Santa Croce.
Next to the Church of S. Antonio, behind a portico covered by ribbed vaults, stands the former convent of San Francesco, now converted into a hotel. According to tradition, it was founded by St. Francis of Assisi around 1220 on top of the ruins of the Rocca di Santa Sofia e di Santo Croce, while on his way to Amalfi to pay homage to the relics of St. Andrew.
The convent retains a 13th-century cloister that can be accessed through the small archaic door underneath the portico. The rectangular-plan cloister has a four-sided covered portico with pointed cross vaults.
The Cloister of S. Francesco stands out its lack of interlaced arches; this is probably due to the Franciscans’ renunciation of the decorative aspect typical of the Islamic world, in favour of a simplicity more in keeping with their rules.
The tower of S. Francesco was built in the 1470s, and was defended using wooden catapults. In the 16th century, the tower was altered, with one floor being removed to allow the use of firearms.
