Explorations of a city made famous by its saintly son.
Across the world, there are thousands (probably) of churches devoted to St. Francis of Assisi. He’s a pretty big deal in the Catholic church (and Anglican and some Lutherans (I was surprised by the Anglican one, but Lutheran blew my mind.)). St. Francis not only started the Franciscan Order, but also the Order of the St. Clare, along with St. Clare of Assisi. He’s the patron saint of animals and of Italy. For a guy born in 1181, St. Francis has made a big impact on history and culture.
Assisi, Italy, was St. Francis’ birthplace and where he founded his monastic orders. The mother church of the Franciscan order has become one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the Catholic faith. The Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi is one of the most gorgeous medieval churches I have ever seen.
Jana Irving Did I mention it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Jana Irving The basilica has two parts, the Lower Church and the Upper Church. Here’s the entrance of the Lower Church.
Photography is not allowed in the church. Even professional images are hard to find of the Lower Church. So here’s a public domain image from Wiki Commons. The entire church is full of frescoes. Everywhere.
Jana Irving The Upper Church. The Lower Church is actually a crypt. A very fancy crypt.
Here’s public domain image of the Upper Church. Gorgeous, isn’t it.
Now that the most important place in Assisi is covered, let’s explore the rest of Assisi. Assisi is built on a long, skinny ridge. Most of the roads follow the direction of the ridge, making it really easy to explore the city.
Jana Irving Back tracking a bit to before I went to the basilica. When you arrive to Assisi by bus from the train station, your first view of the city is this giant gate, Porta San Pietro.
Jana Irving One of the defensive towers of the Rocca Maggiore, the castle that overlooks the city. As you can see from this picture, the weather was dreadful.
Jana Irving Just a normal entrance to a hotel.
Jana Irving Assisi is full of medieval buildings like this one.
Jana Irving Just a normal side street. Those side street/stairs are probably the reason I somehow lost weight in Italy, even with my Nutella obsession.
Jana Irving And it leads to this cuteness.
Jana Irving More cuteness.
Jana Irving Even though it is pouring rain outside, Assisi is still picture perfect.
Jana Irving Another massive city gate, the Porta San Giacomo.
Jana Irving Another medieval building.
Jana Irving The countryside around Assisi.
Jana Irving This town is just too adorable.
Jana Irving Tempio di Minerva/Santa Maria sopra Minerva. What do you do with an old Roman temple? Turn part of it into a church of course.
Jana Irving It was surprisingly small inside for its impressive exterior.
Jana Irving More medieval buildings on the other side of the Piazza del Comune.
Jana Irving I have no idea what this arch is supposed to be but it does have a pretty ceiling.
Jana Irving The piazza’s grand fountain.
Jana Irving Chiesa Nuova di San Francesco (1610) marks the traditional birthplace of St. Francis.
Jana Irving Many of the frescoes feature themes from the Life of St. Francis.
Jana Irving A very colorful church.
Jana Irving Medieval cities were often cramped and every available space was used for buildings.
Jana Irving Cattedrale di San Rufino, the city’s cathedral.
Jana Irving The interior is surprisingly plain, except for this chapel.
Jana Irving The Rocca Maggiore making a reappearance.
Jana Irving I can’t remember if the water fountain was working or not. There are free water fountains all over older areas of cities in Italy.
Jana Irving Santa Stefano, one of the oldest churches in Assisi.
Jana Irving Adorable.
Jana Irving Another medieval building.
Jana Irving Just a random building with a giant fresco.
Jana Irving Santa Maria Maggiore was built on a pre-existing Paleo-Christian church, which in turn was built on top of a Roman temple.
Jana Irving It is now home to the final resting place of what looks to be the first Millennial saint, Carlo Acutis. He’s entombed in a glass case in his athletic jacket. Honestly, it was weird. I’m used to seeing saints’ bodies in religious garb.
Jana Irving Cute entrance to a monastery.
Jana Irving And finally, the Basilica of Santa Chiara, the final resting place of St. Clare.
I knew I would enjoy Assisi before I even got there. Even with the rain and fighting with the umbrella I hated, I did enjoy my exploration of Assisi. It’s a wonderful city to walk around and explore. Assisi is easy reachable from the larger city of Perugia by train and bus.
Check out my next update where I explore the city of Perugia!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
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