Assisi

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Comune di Assisi
Municipal coat of arms
Location of Assisi in Italy
Country	Italy
Region	Umbria
Province	Perugia (PG)
Mayor	Claudio Ricci (since May 2006)
Elevation	424 m (1,391 ft)
Area	186 km² (72 sq mi)
Population (as of December 31, 2004)
- Total	26,196
- Density	141/km² (365/sq mi)
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	43°04′N 12°37′E
Gentilic	Assisani
Dialing code	075
Postal code	06081
Frazioni	see list
Patron	St. Rufinus
- Day	August 12
Website: www.comune.assisi.pg.it

Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference	990
Region**	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2000  (24th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Assisi is a small city in the Perugia province in the Umbria region of Italy. It is situated the western flank of Monte Subasio at an elevation of 1,300 feet (400 meters) and overlooks the valleys of the Topino and Chiascio rivers. In 2004 its population was recorded as 26,196.

Assisi is famous as the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and his contemporary, St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Clares. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was also born in Assisi, in 1838. As such, Assisi is a popular pilgrimage site especially for Roman Catholic faithful.

History

Around 1000 B.C.E. a wave of immigrants settled in the upper Tiber valley as far as the Adriatic Sea and also in the neighborhood of Assisi. These were the Umbrians, living in small fortified settlements on high ground. From 450 B.C.E. these settlements were gradually taken over by the Etruscans. The Romans took control of central Italy by the Battle of Sentinum in 295 B.C.E. They built the flourishing municipium Asisium on a series of terraces on Mount Subasio. Remains from these Roman times can still be found in Assisi in the form of city walls, the forum (now Piazza del Comune), a theatre, an amphitheatre and the Temple of Minerva (now transformed into the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva).

In 238 C.E. Assisi was converted to Christianity by bishop Rufino, who was martyred at Costano. According to tradition, his remains rest in the Cathedral Church of San Rufino in Assisi.

The Ostrogoths of king Totila destroyed most of the town in 545. Assisi then came under the rule of the Lombards and later the Frankish Duchy of Spoleto.

The thriving city became an independent Ghibelline commune in the 11th century. Constantly struggling with the Guelph Perugia, it was during one of those battles, the battle at Ponte San Giovanni, that Francesco di Bernardone, (Saint Francis of Assisi), was taken prisoner, setting in motion the events that eventually led him to live as a beggar, renounce the world and establish the Order of Friars Minor.

The Rocca Maggiore, the imperial fortress on top of the hill above the city, was plundered by the people in 1189, but rebuilt in 1367 on orders of the papal delegate, cardinal Gil de Albornoz.

The city, which had remained within the confines of the Roman walls, began to expand outside these walls in the 13th century. In this period the city was under papal jurisdiction.

In the beginning, Assisi fell under the rule of Perugia and later under several despots, such as the soldier of fortune Biordo Michelotti, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan, Francesco I Sforza, another duke of Milan, Jacopo Piccinino and Federico II da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino. The city went into a deep decline through the plague of the Black death in 1348 C.E.

The city came again under papal jurisdiction under the rule of Pope Pius II (1458-1464).

In 1569 construction was begun on the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. During the renaissance and later centuries, the city continued to develop peacefully, attested by the 17th century palaces of the Bernabei and Giacobetti.

Now the site of many a pilgrimage, Assisi is linked in legend with its native son, St. Francis. The gentle saint founded the Franciscan order and shares honors with St. Catherine of Siena as the patron saint of Italy. He is remembered by many, even non-Christians, as a lover of nature (his preaching to an audience of birds is one of the legends of his life).

Assisi was hit by the devastating twin earthquakes that shook Umbria in 1997, but the recovery and restoration have been remarkable, although much remains to be done. Massive damage was caused to many historical sites, but the major attraction, the Basilica di San Francesco, reopened less than two years later.

Main sights

Churches

• The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St. Francis) is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church (Basilica inferiore e superiore) of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed 1253. The lower church has frescos by renowned late-medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto; in the Upper church are frescos of scenes in the life of St. Francis by previously ascribed to Giotto and now thought to be by artists of the circle of Pietro Cavallini of Rome. The Basilica was badly damaged by the earthquake of September 26, 1997. Part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside the church and carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue. The edifice and was closed for two years for restoration.
• Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary the Greater), the earliest extant church.
• The Cathedral of San Rufino (St. Rufinus), with a Romanesque façade with three rose windows and a 16th‑century interior; part of it is built on a Roman cistern.
• Basilica of Santa Chiara (St Clare) with its massive lateral buttresses, rose window, and simple Gothic interior, begun in 1257, contains the tomb of the saint and 13th‑century frescoes and paintings.
• Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels), which houses the Porziuncola.
• Chiesa Nuova, built over the presumed parental home of St. Francis

Additional landmarks

The town is dominated by two medieval castles. The larger, called Rocca Maggiore, is a massive presence meant to intimidate the people of the town: it was built by Cardinal Albornoz (1367) and added to by Popes Pius II and Paul III. The smaller of the two was built much earlier, in the Roman Era. However, not all of it stands, and only a small portion and three towers are open to the public.

UNESCO collectively designated the major monuments and urban fabric of Assisi as a World Heritage Site.

Panorama of Assisi

Culture

Festival Calendimaggio, May 1st-5th: re-enactment of medieval and renaissance life in the form of a challenge between the upper faction and the lower faction of the town. With processions, theatrical presentations, flag-weavers and dance.

Assisi Embroidery is a form of counted-thread embroidery which has been practised in Assisi since the 13th century.

Today the town has many groups coming to enjoy the simple peace of St. Francis. One such group has restored an 11th century room and added altars to the world's religions. Pilgrims come from many countries to the Assisi East West Retreat Center in Piazza San Rufino in the spirit of St. Francis to sit and be in peace.

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The Basilica of San Francesco, one of Italy's foremost monuments, was built between 1228 and 1253 C.E. The short period of its construction, rare for a church of this size, is often explained as a measure of the great love that the people of the time had for St. Francis. By the mid 1400's pilgrims were flocking to Assisi from all parts of Europe and today the walled medieval town and its grand basilica are among the most visited of Christian shrines.

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Photo gallery

• Anderson, James (1813-1877) - n. 15432 - Assisi - Carro con buoi, la fontana....jpg

  Duomo Plaza, 19th century

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  A street in Assisi, 2004

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  Assisi Street, 2005

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  Narrow streets of Assisi, 2006

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  Assisi

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  Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

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  The complex of Santa Chiara from outside the city

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  The Temple of Minerva in Piazza del Comune

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  The Mattonata

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  Another view of Mattonata

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  Façade of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli

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  The nave of Santa Maria Maggiore

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Chesterton, G. K. 1924. St. Francis of Assisi. New York: George H. Doran Co.
• House, Adrian. 2001. Francis of Assisi. New York: HiddenSpring. ISBN 9781587680090
• Ramati, Alexander, and Rufino Niccacci. 1978. The Assisi underground the priests who rescued Jews. New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 9780812823158
• Stubblebine, James H. 1985. Assisi and the rise of vernacular art. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 9780064385565

External Links

• Washington Theological Union. Assisi. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
• Sacred Destinations. Italy, Assisi. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
• Places of Peace and Power. Assisi, Italy. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
• New Advent. St. Francis of Assisi. Retrieved October 22, 2007.

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