Not Only a Town Of Saints...

Only Assisi can convey the images of asceticism and earthly life, the pink of the stone and green of Mount Subesio. The mass of the basilica, lightened by the double arrangement of arcades, leans on the mountain and leads the gaze and the steps into the town: a succession of basilica, oratories, arches, loggia, fountains, temples, Roman constructions. A slow thoroughfare of streets and small squares cross each other in a framework typically medieval and climbs up towards the Refuge of the Prisons, as far as the summit of the mountain, a solitary limestone mass covered with Mediterranian vegetation. A town that celebrates the Fransiscan spirit and the May Day festivities, that has always known how to maintain its own teachings of spirituality open to dialogue with all other faiths, but also responding to the need for tourism.

Assisi was first founded on the terraces of Mount Subasio in the Valley of Umbria and had its roots in Etruscan culture. It was an important Roman municipality (Asisium) as evidenced by the remains of monuments such as the wall, the forum, the temple of Minerva, the theatre and amphitheatre. It was perhaps in the  50B.C. that the Latin poet Properzio was born here. The martydom of the firt bishop San Rufino is proof of how widespread Christianity was in the third century. Assisi was invaded by the Goths, by the Byzantines, by the Longobards and annexed to their duchy of Spoleto.  After the year 1000 it was liberated. The emperor Frederick Barbarossa settled here in the Rocca Maggiore, where several years later Frederick II of Svevia was baptised in Assisi and given by the Pope by yhe Duke of Spoleto. In 1182 Francis was born and 10 years later also Chiara. In 1198 the citizens rebelled against the Longbard Duke who repressed civic freedom, so he was evicted and the Rocca (fortress) was destroyed. The year 1253 was important for Assisi, when the Pope consecrated three grand churches  to the faithful: the basilica of San Francesco, the church of San Rufino and the church of San Pietro. The internal struggles of the rival families and those of the bordering towns, called for the intervention of the Pope, who organised the rebuilding of the Rocca Maggiore by the Cardinal Albornoz in the 1350's. The city of Assisi and countryside were contested by the Chiesa family, by the Visconti's, by Perugia, by the Montefeltro's, by Braccio Fortebraccio, by the Sforza's, the Baglioni's and by Cesare Borgia. The battles between two local families, the Nepis and the Fiumi who controlled the two zones called the Upper Part and the Lower Part, weakened the city and so it was passed on to the Chiesa family in 1500. This was followed by 3 centuries of continuing decline. The religious, economic and cultural aspects of the city were given a new lease of life in 1926 for the 7th centenary celebrations for the death of San Francesco (1926) and for proclaming him as the Patron Saint of Italy in 1939. Also in this year the Centre for Christian Studies was inaugurated, the Pro Civitate Christiana. The religious vocation of the city which was open to all religious people in the world, was inaugurated in the small 14th century church of Santa Croce, and the symbol of solidarity of religions. The overall structure of Assisi is decidedly medieval, 13th and 14th century in style, very light in colour because of the pink and white local Subasio stone, and very hilly and irregular. Along the well-preserved walls, there are 8 large entrance doors gattes. In the walls of the old houses which flank the narrow streets you can still see the "doors of the dead".

Basilica di S. Francesco and Sacro convento

It is situated in a dominant lateral position overlooking the city. The Pope laid the first stone in 1228, asking brother Elia, a companion of San Francis, to erect a church to accomodate the body of the saint, a convent and a aplace to entertain popes. Two years after the lower part was completed which housed the crypt for the saint's body, a wall was then built around it to protect it from the enemy, Perugia. It was only found again in 1818 beneath the high altar when some restoration work was being done. After the lower basilica was completed, the superior one was built and consecrated by the Pope in 1253. The effect of chiaroscuro ( light and dark) given by the large arches on the façade of the building created by irregularity of the different levels is further highlighted by the huge, elegant twin doors. The height of the square bell tower is to exaggerate how vertical it is. The entrance door to the lower basilica was added in 1400. Inside the nave is divided into five parts which open onto chapels. In the crypt are the remains of the saint. The stained glass windows date from 1200-1300. The upper basilica opens onto a green field, like a terrace. Inside there is only one nave, a transept with many sides. The style is Gothic; the walls decorated with frescoes by famous artists of the period. The whole basilica is a huge museum of works by famous artists, such as Cimabue and Giotto, unique in the world. For those wanting a more detailed visit, it is best to ask the monks.

Basilica di Santa Chiara

It has much in common with the façade of San Francesco. Built in 1250, it has a simplicity of Gothic lines and the white and pink stone of Subasio, with an ornate entrance. The three buttressed arches were added in 1300 to stabilise the building. The side chapel was added at the end of the 14th century. The tall square bell tower containing mullioned windows has a spire on top. The Gothic interior based on the Latin Cross is divided into 4 sections with columns and transepts. The main altar is surrounded by 12 columns from the 15th century, with an entrance door in wrought iron from the 1700's. There are also works in this church of inestimable value. In the crypt is the body of Saint Chiara.

Loggia dei Maestri Comacini

Found along via S. Francesco the seat of famous Lombardy artists from the 1200's; who were instrumental in the construction of the basilica.

Oratorio dei Pellegrini

Halfway along via S. Francesco there was a convalescent home from the 1400's, which was then opened to public.

Chiesa di S. Rufino - Duomo

Dedicated to the saint and martyr San Rufino, it was consecreted by the pope in 1253 but its construction was built as three separate projects; in the 7th,11th and 12th centuries. The ornate decoration of the façade in three layers is symbolic of the medieval order: the figures of saints, of animals, of flowers, men and Telamons. The bell tower is in Romanesque style (11th century) with double Gothic windows. It is adjacent to the house where Santa Chiara lived. The interior was redone at the end of the 1500's by the architect G. Alessi. In the baptismal font notable persons such as San Francesco and Santa Chiara were baptised. It is also worth visiting the underground, where there is a cistern, a crypt, the remains of a wall and some Roman inscriptions. The fountain in the square was restored in the 1500's.

Chiesa di San Pietro

It was erected by the Benedectines before the year 1000, then redone in the early 1200's, then consecreted by the pope in 1253. It is for the most part Romanesque/Gothic. On the façade there are three big doors with three large rose windows over the top. The inside, restored only a few decades ago, has three naves with plain pillars. The presbytery is very high up with a Romanesque bell tower on the side. The frescoes date from the 13th and 14th centuries.

Palazzo dei Priori or Comunale

Built in the 1300's by four architects, it has recently in the 1930's, been restored. On the ground floor an art gallery has been opened and beneath the ground there is a grotto, as was a popular custum in the mid 1500's.

Chiesa di S. Maria Maggiore

It is a very early Romanesque cathedral. The façade is linear, in three separate layers decorated with simple rose windows and a Romanesque Gothic belltower. The interior has three naves, the roof in the central part is trussed while on the sides it is vaulted. There are some Roman remains in the crypt area. It was in the adjacent Vescovado that Saint Francesco renounced all earthly possession.

Chiesa Nuova

King Philip III of Spain had this church built in the beginning of the 1600's, in the place where Francesco's father's house was situated. The interior is a Greek cross. To the left it opens onto the so-called "prison of San Francesco", where they say his father locked him him in order to punish him for disobedience. In the nearby lane of San Antonio they have opened an "oratorio di S. Francesco", the site that mother Monna Pica chose as the birth place for her son, after dreaming about it.

Rocca Maggiore / Minore

This used to be a feudal bastion, perhaps from the Longbards, with the outside wall being a trapezoid, angular towers and square quarter deck. Another many-sided tower is adjoining by a long corridor. This is where Frederick II of Svevia lived. The fort has undergone many retouches throughout the ages. An old underground passage links it to the minor fortress (rocca minore) and was reconstructed by the Viscontis. The huge cylindrical tower was erected by Pope Paul Farnese II in the mid 1500's, when he took possession of the city.

Tempio di Minerva

From the Augustan period, this temple has been well-preserved: the six grooved columns sit on wide steps, crowned with Corinthian capitals and a triangular gable. It is from the baroque period and said to be the church of S. Maria above Minerva.

Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo

Dates from the 1200's but restored in the 1930's, the tower alongside has measurements marked which date back to medieval times. In this tower we can find the bell of praise, given by the Comuni of Italy in 1226.

Chiesa di S. Stefano

From the 1200's also, has a bell tower with a mullioned windows, on the walls of the one nave we can see frescoes from the 25th and 16th centuries.

Chiesa di S. Giacomo De Muro Rupto

A small church from the 11th century, annexed to the convent of the daughters of S. Anna; it has a single nave with transept, crossed vaults and on the walls frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Chiesa di S. Lorenzo

Dating from the 1400's it shows a tabernacle with frescoes of the Madonna with Child on the throne between San Francesco and San Lorenzo.

Fonte Oliviera

Built by Oliviero Ludovici at the end of the 1500's.

Foro Romano

Situated beneath piazza del comune, with access from via Portica where, under the last arch we have the pulpit from where San Bernardino preached in 1425.

Portico del Monte Frumentario

A hospital dating from the 1200's, with lowered buttresses, and arches, columns and frescoes. Its present name comes from the Istituto di Credito Agrario, which was opened in 1500.

Near Assisi

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Built shortly after the middle of the 1500's to house various small things associated with the Saint, especially the Porziuncola, which means the little part of the world, and also to house the oratory and the huts of the Frati Minori. In the Cappella del transito S. Francesco died, on the bare hearth, wearing a cloak loaned to him by another brother. The church suffered immense damage in the earthquake in 1832, but it was immediately restored. The present façade is from the 1930's. The inside has three naves with ornate side chapels. This church also is a museum of works of art of inestimable value.

Basilica di San Benedetto

This basilica was perhaps built before the year 1000 and is a rich source of the Romanesque style, in spite of the many renovations. The crypts from the 11th and the 12th centuries are the most representative remains of the style.

Santuario di San Damiano

Was renovated according to locals, by San Francesco who, few years later, gave it to Chiara as her place to live. This is where she died and where the "Canticle of the Animals" was composed. It dates from the 1200's, plain and simple, with a single nave covered with vaulting. The designated convent areas still bear witness to the presence of Chiara  and those who were her companions.

Eremo delle Carceri - Monte Subasio

In the midst of the woods, where the saint and his companions went to pray in the caves, there was a small church, which is now a convent , which was enlarged by S. Bernardino in the 1400's. To visit it now can be a very moving experience, as you climb up the track, as far as 1290 metres at the top of Monte Subasio, to get the best vista of the whole Umbrian Valley as far as Lake Trasimeno and the Appennines.

Santuario di Santa Maria di Rivotorto

Built in the 1850's on the remains of a church from the 1500's which had been constructed to protect the Tugurio di Francesco, but collapsed after an earthquake. The nearby stream has given its name to the church. In this church many of the brothers began their monastic life; the order of the Frati MInori.

Holy Cross at the “Ponte dei Galli”

A short distance from Porta San Giacomo (St. James’s Gate), just outside Assisi, there is a small monastery with an old medieval bridge next to it. The spot is called Santa Croce al Ponte dei Galli and marks the beginning of the Franciscan Path, which is the way St. Francis took to get from Assisi to Gubbio after renouncing his father ’s riches.Even today the “path” climbs up in the middle of hills covered with woods in unspoilt surroundings; surely not much different from the one the young Francis had to follow eight hundreds years ago. Perhaps the monks who inhabited the monastery shook their heads on seeing the youth dressed in ragis must have seemed, even to the religious monks, nothing other than a good for nothing.