Assisi

Founded 800 years before Rome, Asisium, as it was then known, was a prosperous town. The Temple of Minerva dating to those early times, still stands, though now it is a Catholic Church, the Chiesa di Santa Maria sopra Minerva. 

Assisi’s first millennium was marked by war and turmoil. However, following the death of St. Francis, the town became a place of pilgrimage adding to its prosperity and bringing much sought after peace. From the thirteen century forward the history of Assisi is closely aligned to the stories of St. Francis and St. Clare. 

Legend from the 15th century says Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was born in a small stable, now the Piccolini Chapel in 1181. His father, a wealthy merchant was in France when Giovanni was born and upon his return renamed the child Francis.

However, it is more likely that he was born in the family home, now the Chiesa Nuova. As Francis grew to shed the trappings of his wealthy life, his family imprisoned him in a tiny cell hoping to have him return to his previous life style. 

Standing proudly outside the church, their old family home, are statues of St. Francis’  parents. 

Despite attempts to rehabilitate him, Francis continued his life of poverty and austerity at San Damiano, on the hills outside of Assisi. 

It is there in 1224 that he received a vision of Christ on the cross telling him to rebuild his church. The cross in this image is the cross on which St. Francis saw the vision, though it has been relocated from San Damiano to the Basilica di Santa Chiara. 

The Basilica Santa Chiara is named after St. Clare, a nun who also left a life of luxury to take a vow of poverty and service, following St. Francis’ example. 

ISaint Francis and St. Clare lived in extreme poverty, and worked tirelessly to reform the Catholic Church. Both saints were canonized within 2 years of their deaths. 

The Basilica of San Francesco is allocated on the west end of Assisi. Construction started in 1228 on a hill then know as the Hill of Hell, where criminals were executed. The hill was later renamed the Hill of Paradise. The Basilica consists of two churches, the Upper Basilica and the Lower Basilica. The remains of St. Francis are located in the Lower Basilica.