Giotto

Piazza Santa Chiara

by croisbeauty

Piazza Santa Chiara is the biggest square of the town, situated at the other pole of the historic centre right opposite to the Basilica of San Francesco. Many tourists and pilgrims use it as the resting place, especially in the hot summer days, because not many spots in the city can offer such a shade. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle of the square and many tourists use it's water for refreshing.

Basilica di San Francesco (Church of St. Francis)

by Lhenne1

You can't miss the Basilica as you approach the town of Assisi. The piazza outside the church is filled with modern political art depicting current issues.

Within the Cathedral are two main chapels, a reliquary and tomb. The Upper Chapel contains beautiful 13th century stained glass and numerous frescos. Unfortunately, many of the frescos (designed by Cimabue and Giotto) were severely damaged in the earthquake of 1997. The lower section of the wall depicts the life of St. Francis while the upper section has scenes from the Bible. Within the domes you can see the doctors of the church and the four evangelists. The back of the Cathedral holds scenes of trauma (Christ's death and the Apocalypse) created by Giotto.

The Lower Chapel leads to the tombs of St. Francis and his followers. The tomb was built by Francis' disciples immediately after his death. The frescos in the lower chapel are gorgeous, but the lack of light makes the colors and details a bit more difficult to view. You can also enter the reliquary where objects and clothing believed to have belonged to St. Francis.

The entire Basilica is something to experience, whether or not you are a religious individual. The artistry of the building makes it worth a visit.

Santa Chiara

by Polly74

Construction work on the church and adjacent convent of St Claire began in 1257, three years after the saint's death and a year after she was canonised.

Until then the sisters of St Claire had lodged at San Damiano. The church dedicated to St Claire occupied the site of the church of San Giorgio, where St Francis had been buried before his remains were moved to the basilica in 1230.

The exterior of the building makes use of alternate strips of pink and white stone, with massive supporting arches either side.

The interior has the same layout as the Upper Basilica of St Francis, with a single nave that terminates in a transept and polygonal apse. Like St Francis', a gallery runs the entire perimeter of the church, although here it is on the same level as the capitols. On the right hand side of the nave the Cappella del Crocifisso and the Cappella del Sacramento were once part of the nave of the previously existing church of San Giorgio, where Pope Gregory IX canonised St Francis in 1228.

The crypt was built between 1850 and 1872. Restored in neo-gothic style in 1935, it houses the body of St Claire, disovered in 1850.

Walk With a Saint

by rexvaughan

"Paragaon of humility"

Assisi's main, if not only, claim to fame is that it is St. Francis' hometown. Probably one of the most popular saints in the history of the Church, Francis left his life of relative comfort here and began to wander the streets as a poor man preaching love and the humble life. Just walking the streets of this little city is amazing because you know this holy man was here. G. K. Chesterton described a seminal event in Francis' life when a beggar had sought alms from him while Francis was bargaining with a local merchant. When finished with the merchant, Chesterton says "Francis leapt from his booth ... running, he threaded the labyrinth of the narrow and crooked streets of the little town, looking for the beggar ... and loaded that astonished mendicant with money." Walking these streets puts you on the same stage where Francis lived.