Assisi 2012

Assisi is famous as the birthplace of St Francis, 1181 – 1226.

Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he begged with the beggars at St. Peter's. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following. His order was endorsed by Pope Innocent III in 1210. source here.

It is an irony that St Fancis, who devoted his life to poverty, should be commemorated in Assisi by the magnificent Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi which consists of an upper and lower church.



The upper church is is decorated with frescoes including the St Francis Cycle . This series of paintings, depicting scenes from St Francis's live, are traditionally assigned to Giotto though this is disputed by many art historians.

Here is one of the paintings, St Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Man ...

Francis hands his valuable golden cloak to an impoverished citizen. The scene takes place in front of two rocky hills, on whose peaks two very different types of architecture rise up -

the world of the city and of the cloister confront one another here. The descending slopes meet behind the figure of the saint, emphasizing his position in the picture, as well as characterizing his situation in life: this is a first indication that the saint will decide to lead a secluded life of poverty. Source .

Beneath the lower Basilica is a crypt that houses the tomb of St Francis ...

The remains of St. Francis were solemnly transported to the new church on 25 May 1230. Pope Innocent IV consecrated the basilica on 25 May 1253 ... ... Pius VII, on 12 September 1818, gave permission to the ... Friars Minor Conventuals to proceed with the excavations underneath the main altar of the lower basilica in order to find the tomb of St. Francis, which had been conceiled ... in 1476. The tomb came to light on 8 December 1818, and on 12 December the remains of St. Francis were exhumed. In order to facilitate the visits of the growing number of pilgrims to the tomb, a new neo-romanic crypt was opened underneath the lower basilica

Note: photography is not allowed in the Basilica. The photos of the tomb and the painting above were taken from the Internet.

Assisi had a long history before the Christian Era. It had, of course, been a Roman town. In the main square - Piazza del Comune - stands Santa Maria sopra Minerva, a Christian church which had been built during the Emperor Augustus' rule as the Temple of Minerva ...



Here is another link to the Temple of Minerva.

Assisi is an interesting and pleasant city to visit as shown by the photographs at this link.

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Our next destination was Sorrento.