Assisi lives entirely in the name of St. Francis, so much so that it is, even physically, enclosed between the two poles of his holiness: the Basilica of St. Francis and the Basilica of St. Clare.
The itinerary evokes the city at the time of Francis and Clare and retraces the traces of their existence: the birthplace of St. Francis, the baptismal font, Clare’s house, the San Damiano Crucifix, and the Bishop’s Square, where the renunciation of possessions took place.
The journey continues with the Saint’s death and the construction of the Basilica in his honor.
A route, the one proposed, that moves among solitary hermitages immersed in nature, small churches overlooking the valley, majestic basilicas decorated by the greatest artists of the time and city corners among alleys and public spaces.
- Basilica of St. Francis, built over the Saint’s tomb and frescoed by outstanding painters including Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti.
- Town Square with the Roman Temple of Minerva.
- New Church with the Paternal House of St. Francis.
- Oratory of St. Francis Piccolino, on the birthplace of the saint.
- Basilica of St. Clare, built on the tomb of the saint, preserves the famous Crucifix of San Damiano, who spoke to St. Francis.
- Hermitage of the Prisons, built where Francis and his closest companions took refuge in prayer.
- Convent of San Damiano, nestled in an olive grove, hosted Clare and her first companions on the site where the Crucifix spoke to St. Francis.
- Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, built to protect the small church of the Portiuncula, the heart of the Franciscan experience.