Things to see:
Santa Maria degli Angeli
I like to start a visit to Assisi by stopping at this huge church in the suburb below the town. The church itself is of little architectural interest but is built over a tiny chapel, the Porzuincola, where St. Francis used to meet with his followers. You can also see the place where he died, his cell and a rose garden. The roses have no thorns and have white petals with red spots, this relates to a story where St. Francis threw himself into a rosebush to distract himself from temptation, the thorns fell off the bushes when they touched the saint. Cynical visitors are likely to suspect that the roses result from selective breeding, rather than saintly intervention.
Basilica di Santa Chiara
Notable for the huge flying butresses added after construction was finished, most of the interior has been whitewashed. The crucifix which spoke to St. Francis telling him to “rebuild my church” is now kept here.
Basilica di San Francesco
Built in a great hurry after the death of Saint Francis, the rows of arches along the south west walls were hurriedly added on to stop subsidence. St. Francis had asked to be buried in a simple fashion at this end of town where criminals were executed. His wishes were very obviously ignored! Due to the fear that the saint’s valuable relics might be stolen (in particular by the nearby Perugians), the burial was so secret that his crypt was only discovered in 1818.
The Basilica comprises two churches one top of the other, the lower church is darker and more meditative but I’ve yet to read a good explanation of why this unusual arrangement exists. The lower church has frescoes by Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and the unknown Maestro di San Francesco. You can see that Pietro Lorenzetti had pretty much mastered perspecitve even though he was painting 100 years before the official start of the Renaissance. He died in 1348 when the Black Death reached Italy, the Renaissance was going to have to wait!
The nave of the Upper Basilica has an incredible fresco cycle of the life of St. Francis. The paintings are often attributed to Giotto but many art historians dispute this, sometimes attributing them to Pietro Cavallini, a Roman artist. Close study of the pictures will show that there were possibly four different artists at work on the cycle.
San Rufino (Duomo)
Named after the patron saint of Assisi (St. Francis is a patron saint of Italy and the environment) this cathedral has a marvellous Romanesque facade.
Piazza del Comune
The main square in the town, the most noticable building is the Temple of Minerva, an old Roman temple converted nto a church. There are several pleasant but pricey cafes in the square.
Rocca Maggiore
Walk high above the town and you can visit the town’s imposing fortress. The views are great but walking inside a fortified wall to the tower is not for people with claustrophobia! |
