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Basilica di San Francesco
The Basilica di San Francesco has a separate information office (%075 819 00 84; www.sanfrancescoassisi.org; h -noon & - Mon-Sat) opposite the entrance to the lower church.
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Basilica di San Francesco Lower Church
The Basilica di San Francesco Lower Church was built between 1228 and 1230. The stained-glass windows are the work of master craftsmen brought in from Germany, England and Flanders during the 13th century, and were quite an architectural feat at that time.
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Basilica di San Francesco Upper Church
The Basilica di San Francesco Upper Church was built just after the lower church, between 1230 and 1253, and the change in style and grandiosity is readily apparent. One of the most famous pieces of art in the world is the 28-part fresco circling the walls. The fresco has been attributed to Giotto and his pupils for hundreds of years, but the question of who produced it is now under debate within the art-historian community.
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Basilica di Santa Chiara
Basilica di Santa Chiara is 13th-century Romanesque, with steep ramparts and a striking façade. The white and pink stone that makes up the exterior here (the same stone that makes many buildings in Assisi look like they glow in the sunlight) came from nearby Subasio. The daughter of an Assisian nobleman, St Clare was a spiritual contemporary of St Francis and founded the Sorelle Povere di Santa Chiara (Order of the Poor Ladies), now known as the Poor Clares. She is buried in the church's crypt.
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Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli
A quick walk from the train station is the imposing Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, built between 1565 and 1685 around the first Franciscan monastery and tiny Porziuncola Chapel. Perugino fans will appreciate his intact Crucifixion, painted on the rear wall. St Francis died at the site of the Cappella del Transito on 3 October 1226.
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Chiesa Nuova
The Chiesa Nuova was built by King Philip III of Spain in the 1600s on the spot reputed to be the house of St Francis' family. Mass is said daily, with an extra service on holidays.
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Duomo di San Rufino
The 13th-century Romanesque Duomo di San Rufino, remodelled by Galeazzo Alessi in the 16th century, contains the fountain where St Francis and St Clare were baptised. The façade is festooned with grotesque figures and fantastic animals.
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Eremo delle Carceri
About 4km east of the city is Eremo delle Carceri, the hermitage that St Francis retreated to after hearing the word of God. The carceri (prisons) are the caves that functioned as hermits' retreats for St Francis and his followers. Apart from a few fences and tourist paths, everything remains as it was in St Francis' time. Eremo delle Carceri is a great jumping-off point for walks through Monte Subasio or picnics under the oaks.
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Foro Romano
From the Basilica di Santa Chiara, take Via S Chiara back to Piazza del Comune, once the site of a partially excavated Foro Romano. Some of the shops on the piazza open their basements to reveal Roman ruins.
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Pinacoteca Comunale
The city's Pinacoteca Comunale displays Umbrian Renaissance art and frescoes from Giotto's school.
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Rocca Maggiore
Dominating the city, with an equally dominant view of the valley, is the massive 14th-century Rocca Maggiore, an oft expanded, pillaged, and rebuilt hill fortress offering 360-degree views of Perugia. Walk up windy staircases and claustrophobic passageways to reach the archer slots that served Assisians as they went medieval on Perugia.
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Sala delle Reliquie
The Basilica di San Francesco's Sala delle Reliquie contains items from St Francis' life, including his simple tunic and sandals and fragments of his celebrated Canticle of the Creatures. The most important relic here is the Franciscan Rule parchment, the Book of Life composed by Francis.
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Santuario di San Damiano
Around 1.5km south of the Porta Nuova, the Santuario di San Damiano was built on the spot where St Francis first heard the voice of Jesus and where he wrote his Canticle of the Creatures . You can visit the original convent founded by St Clare in 1212 here, as well as its cloisters and refectory.
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Tempio di Minerva
The Tempio di Minerva, facing Piazza del Comune and Palazzo dei Priori, is now a church but retains its impressive pillared façade with six fluted columns dating back to Roman times. The turn-of-the-millennium pagan temple, dedicated to the goddess of peace, is featured as the backdrop to the Homage to the Simple Man fresco in the Basilica's upper church.
Showing 1-14 of 14 results
