Assisi is a medieval town in Umbria (central Italy), built in typical pink and white stone, located 12 miles (19 km) east of Perugia at an elevation of 1,300 feet (400 meters). Certain places have a distinct feeling, presence, or energy of peace. Assisi is one of these places. The entire town has a definite atmosphere of peacefulness that […]

History, facts and travel tips about Assisi Assisi is a medieval town in Umbria (central Italy), built in typical pink and white stone, located 12 miles (19 km) east of Perugia at an elevation of 1,300 feet (400 meters). Certain places have a distinct feeling, presence, or energy of peace. Assisi is one of these places. The entire town has a definite atmosphere of peacefulness that […]

Assisi is a medieval town in Umbria (central Italy), built in typical pink and white stone, located 12 miles (19 km) east of Perugia at an elevation of 1,300 feet (400 meters). Certain places have a distinct feeling, presence, or energy of peace. Assisi is one of these places. The entire town has a definite atmosphere of peacefulness that awakens and stimulates that same characteristic in the human heart.

Assisi is best known as the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi (San Francesco) — patron saint of Italy, founder of the Franciscan order, and one of the most popular Catholic saints in history. Assisi’s main attraction is the 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco, which contains the sacred relics of Francis and beautiful frescoes of his life from the Tuscan master Giotto. And there are at least seven other churches well worth visiting for their history, beauty, and connection with Francis or his friend Clare.

The town of Assisi, with its Roman ruins (like Tempio di Minerva), winding medieval streets and sacred shrines, has been a major Catholic pilgrimage destination for centuries and is today one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.



Little is known regarding the original founding of the town. One legend tells that the ancient town, called Assisium, came into existence around a holy spring that was later venerated by the Etruscans (9th – 5th centuries BC) and, following them, by the Romans. Another legend tells that the town was begun by Dardanus 865 years before the founding of Rome (April 21, 753 BC). Sometime in the 1st century BC a temple of Minerva, the Roman goddess of art, handicrafts and the professions, was constructed at the sacred spring. Subject to the dukes of Spoleto in the early Middle Ages, the town of Assisi became an independent Comune in the 12th century and was involved in disputes and battles with nearby Perugia before passing to the Papal states. It became part of the Italian kingdom in 1860.



St. Francis (San Francesco) was born in Assisi in 1182 (some sources say 1181), the son of a well-to-do cloth merchant. A lively, even riotous youth who dreamed of achieving military glory, Francis abandoned his worldly ambitions at the age of 19 while a prisoner of war in Perugia. He thereafter became a mystic who experienced visions of Christ and Mary, composed the first poem in the Italian language about the beauties of nature (Cantico delle Creature), and in 1210 founded the famous order of mendicant friars known as the Franciscans. His repudiation of the worldliness and hypocrisy of the church, his love of nature, and his humble, unassuming character earned him an enormous following throughout Europe.

In 1209, Francis led his first eleven followers to Rome to get the permission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious Order. Pope Innocent, following a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the Basilica of St. John Lateran (the cathedral of Rome, thus the ‘home church’ of all Christendom), he decided to endorse Francis’ Order. Francis was the first known Christian to receive the stigmata, the spontaneously appearing wounds on the hands, feet and side of the body corresponding to the torments of Christ on the cross. These injuries caused Francis great pain and suffering, but he bore them with his characteristic serenity, keeping the matter secret for many years so as not to draw attention to himself and away from god.

Places To Visit

Church of St. Francis (Basilica di San Francesco) and the Giotto frescos.

The Basilica of San Francesco, one of Italy’s foremost monuments, was built between 1228 and 1253 AD. The short period of its construction, rare for a church of this size, is often explained as a measure of the great love that the people of the time had for St. Francis. By the mid 1400’s pilgrims were flocking to Assisi from all parts of Europe and today the walled medieval town and its grand basilica are among the most visited of Christian shrines.

The most important decorations in the Basilica are the series of 28 frescoes ascribed to the young Giotto along the lower part of the nave. Each bay contains three frescoes above the dado on each side of the nave, two frescoes in the east galleries beside the entrance, and two more on the entrance wall. Giotto used the Legenda Maior, the biography of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure (1266) to reconstruct the major events in the life of St. Francis. The paintings are as vivid as if Giotto had been a witness to these events. According to Vasari, they were executed in the period between 1296 and 1304.

The paintings represent a major point of reference for the history of Western Art. For the first time with Giotto, an evolution from the classic byzantine style was experienced. Giotto introduced new elements: realistic description of human emotions, naturalism, advanced architectural details and the perspective effect in painting. Giotto in Assisi opens the way to early Renaissance.

Church of St. Clare (Basilica di Santa Chiara)

It’s very beautiful pink and white color stones church known for housing the incorrupt body of St.Clare (Santa Chiara). Church of St. Francis and Church of St. Clare are the Jewels inside the walled city of Assisi. This early Gothic church with Romanesque characteristics was built on 3 October 1260, Clare’s remains were transferred from the chapel of San Giorgio to the Basilica of Saint Clare where they were buried in the earth under the high altar of the new church.

Saint Clare (1193-1253) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and founder of the Order of Poor Ladies. She was canonized quickly in 1256 and her tomb is located in the neo-Gothic crypt with an attractive arch and vault beneath the church.

The church facade on the west with a rose window in the center is made of horizontal bands of Assisian pink and white stone. The interior inside the church is very humble, walls are painted in white colour as the frescoes were lost in the 17th C. The white painted crucifix from 1260 hangs above the choir. The Oratory of the Crucifix Chapel holds the sacred crucifix from the 12th C. and is adorned with frescoes by Puccio Capanna and Pace di Bartolo. The views outside of the church are fantastic. From the outside you can look up into Assisi or look down into the valley.

The Temple of Minerva – the Umbrian Pantheon

Located in the beautiful medieval Piazza del Comune, the Temple of Minerva (Italian: Tempio di Minerva) is an ancient Roman building in Assisi, Umbria, central Italy. It currently houses a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, built in 1539 and renovated in Baroque style in the 17th century.

The temple was built in the 1st century BC by will of Gneus Caestius and Titus Caesius Priscus, who were two of the city’s quattuorviri and also financed the construction. The attribution to the goddess Minerva derives from the finding of a female statue, although a dedication stone to Hercules has been found, and the temple was likely dedicated to this male semi-god.

Of the ancient temple, the façade has been preserved, with six Corinthian columns supporting the architrave and a small pediment. The columns were originally covered by a very strong plaster, which was perhaps colored.

The Eremo delle Carceri

The Eremo delle Carceri is a small hermitage in a spectacular steep forest gorge at the Monte Subasio, four kilometers above Assisi. The word Carceri is from the Latin ‘carceres’ and means “isolated places” (as well as “prisons”). The place for its natural and spiritual beauty should be visited during the trip to Assisi.

In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi returned here during his life to pray and contemplate the nature as did other hermits before him. When he first came in 1205, the only building here was a tiny 12th-century oratory. Soon, other men followed him to the mountain, finding their own isolated caves nearby in which to pray. The oratory became known as Santa Maria delle Carceri after the small “prisons” occupied by friars in the area.

The Rocca Maggiore

The Rocca Maggiore dominated by more than eight hundred years, the citadel of Assisi and the valley of Tescio, constituting the most viable fortification for their defense. The Rocca can be visited inside and everyone can enjoy a wonderful view over the city of Assisi.

Cattedrale di San Rufino

It is a typical example of the style found in 12th-century churches of Umbria. The Cathedral was built in Umbrian Romanesque style with stones from the Monte Subasio. It contains the remains of bishop Rufinus of Assisi, martyred in the 3rd century. The construction was started in 1140 to the designs by Giovanni da Gubbio, as attested by the wall inscription visible inside the apse. He may be the same Giovanni who designed the rose-window on the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1163.

San Damiano church

The church built in 12th Century, according to tradition, it is connected with Saint Francis’ encounter with Christ. In 1205 he had been praying at San Damiano which at the time was a very run down building. Saint Francis saw the figure of Christ crucified come alive and say to him, “Francis, don’t you see my house is crumbling apart? Go, then, and restore it!” Afterwards Saint Francis took action to repair San Damiano, although he eventually realized that God’s message to him was to restore the Church as a whole rather than literally repair churches such as San Damiano. The cross from which Christ spoke to Saint Francis is known as the San Damiano cross. It currently hangs in the Basilica di Santa Chiara (Basilica of Saint Clare) in Assisi.

Porziuncola

It is a small church located within the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in the frazione of Santa Maria degli Angeli, situated about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Assisi. According to a legend the little chapel of Porziuncola was erected under Pope Liberius (352-366) by hermits from the Valley of Josaphat, who had brought relics from the grave of the Blessed Virgin. The same legend relates that the chapel passed into the possession of Benedict of Nursia in 516. It was known as Our Lady of the Valley of Josaphat or of the Angels – the latter title referring, according to some, to the assumption of Mary accompanied by angels; a better-founded opinion attributes the name to the singing of angels which had been frequently heard there. In 1205 San Francis, having restored the church, chose to live in this place and he founded here the Franciscan order. Francesco died in this church during the night of 3rd October 1226.

EVENTS

Assisi is famous for food, wine, art and religious festivals and events throughout the year. Some of the highlights of the events calendar in Assisi include:

First weekend of May: Calendimaggio. This festival, which celebrates the return of spring, has roots in pagan and ancient Roman mythology. Late-night revelry, musical concerts, traditional dress, and processions are highlights of this yearly festival. The event also pits one side of town against one another in a number of competitions, a bloodless reenactment of a rivalry begun between different factions of the city in the 1300s. Visit Calendimaggio official site.

July 3 – July 20: (Assisi performing Arts). Every year musicians converge upon the medieval town of Assisi, Italy to produce world-class vocal and chamber music. Assisi Performing Arts consists of two divisions: vocal and instrumental. Each division boasts world-class performers and renowned faculty. Vocalists, for example, enjoy performing opera, oratorio, concert and other diverse repertoire; exploring opportunities in sacred music, and collaborating with chamber musicians. As a result, Assisi Performing Arts offers hands-on experience in crafting a musical career that is both deeply satisfying and complementary to the conventional notion of opera stardom. Instrumentalists, meanwhile, benefit from a chamber music program featuring musicians from orchestras across the U.S. (and beyond) as well as faculty from many important universities and conservatories. Chamber musicians contribute to the program with their own repertoire recommendations while challenging themselves with lesser-known and new works. An intensive schedule of performances in a collegial environment means that participants of all skill levels grow musically as individuals and as members of an ensemble. And the encouraging atmosphere cultivated by Assisi Performing Arts makes it the perfect place to try out new musical genres. Visit official site.

2nd of August: (Festa del Perdono, or forgiveness day). Has occurred every year in Santa Maria degli Angeli since 1216 to commemorate the indulgence received by Saint Francesco from Pope Onorio III.

4th of October: (Festa di San Francesco) National celebrations of Saint Francesco, the patron saint of Italy. Is the festival that celebrates the life of St Francis, masses are celebrated in the Basilica di San Francesco and Santa Maria degli Angeli.

November: is the best period for visiting Assisi for those who is interesting at typical food of region. Celebrating the olive oil produced from this year’s harvest, Truffle and forest Products, vine, everything is very fresh and best quality at this period of the year.

HOW TO GET IN:

By car:

Take the A1 freeway and exit at the SS75. Follow the signs to historical Assisi and park in one of the public lots just outside the city walls.

By train:

You’ll have to take a local connection at Terontola (coming from Florence) or Foligno (coming from Rome) to Assisi/Santa Maria degli Angeli. The Assisi station is at the bottom of the hill, about three miles from the center of town. Bus line “C” (ASSISI – P.ZZA MATTEOTTI-FS-P.ZZA GARIBALDI) will take you the rest of the way.

Note: You cannot buy the bus line “C” tickets on the bus. You have to buy them from the Tabacchi store in the Assisi train station. Although you can buy the ticket for the trip back to the train station in Assisi itself, its easier to buy two tickets at the Tabacchi store in the train station, using one ticket for the trip up and the other trip back.