 Introduzione
Come Si Arriva
Plane
Central Italy's closest major airports are in Rome, Pisa, and Florence.
The major international gateway is Rome's Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci, known as Fiumicino 30 km southwest of Rome. Two buses leave daily from Roma Fiumicino Airport (International Departure Terminal C) to Assisi (Piazza san Pietro)
Pisa's Aeroporto Galileo Galilei 12 km south of Pisa and 80 km west of Florence, has flights from London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris, as well as connections to Rome and Milan. From Pisa airport there is a train service to Florence and from there trains on the main line to Rome.
Florence's Aeroporto A. Vespucci, known as Peretola 10 km northwest of Florence, has connections to Brussels, Paris, London, Rome, and Milan.
Perugia's tiny Aeroporto Sant'Egidio has only daily flights to and from Milan, where direct flights are available from and to most of the main international destinations.
Train
From the North, the main line between Florence and Rome has a station at Terontola (on the branch line to Lake Trasimene, Perugia, Assisi, Spello, and Foligno), so coming from Florence take one of the dozen daily trains to Terontola/Cortona (1hr 30mins.) that meet up with a connecting train to Assisi/S.Maria degli ANgeli (45 to 60 min.).
From the South, the main line between Rome and Ancona has a station at Foligno (on the branch line to Spello, Assisi, Perugia and Lake Trasimene), so coming from Rome, take one of the nine daily trains on the line to Ancona, stop at Foligno (1 hr., 40 min. to 2 hr.), where you can transfer to a Perugia-bound train (10 to 15 min.).
Car
From the north (Milan, Florence), the best exit for Assisi on the A1 motorway at Valdichiana, where the superstrada SS75bis branches into Umbria at Lake Trasimene and continues towards Perugia-Assisi. From Rome travelling northwards along the A1 motorway the best exit for reaching Assisi is at Orte, which is connected to the regional capital at first by the SS204 to Terni and then by the E45 (or SS3bis) from Terni to Perugia-Assisi. The A14 motorway down the Adriatic coast of Italy has an exit at Cesena for the E45 “superstrada” to Città di Castello and Perugia-Assisi.
History and Culture
In 545 A.C. Assisi, which had already been converted to Christianity in 238 A.D by the works of its first Bishop Rufino, was attacked and destroyed by the Goths of Totila destroying most of the town. The Goths where succeeded by the Longobards whom incorporate Assisi into the Duchy of Spoleto. In the 11th century the a free commune is constituted: being of Ghibelline faith it always lived in opposition to the Guelfish Perugia. It was during one of those battles, the battle at Ponte San Giovanni, that Giovanni di Bernardone, (Francis of Assisi), was taken prisoner, setting in motion the events that eventually led him to live as a beggar and renounce the world.
The Rocca Maggiore, the imperial fortress on top of the Mount Subasio, was plundered by the people in 1189, but rebuilt in 1367 on orders of the papal delegate, cardinal Albornoz. The city, which had remained within the confines of the Roman walls, began to expand outside these walls in the 13th century. enlarging its town-walls, incorporating the convent and church of St. Francis, the Benedictine convent of S. Peter and the town quarter Borgo Aretino.
The decline of Assisi begun after the black death in 1348. From the 14th century and until the 16th century the two major Assisi families, the Nepis (of the upper town=Parte de Sopra) and the Fiumi (of the lower town=Parte de Sotto) continued to fight each other bitterly, although the town was dominated for long periods by several seignories (Biordo Michelotti, Broglio di Trinci, Galeazzo Visconti, Braccio Fortebraccio, Francesco Sforza, Jacopo Piccinino). Only under the reign of Pope Pius II Piccolomini (1458-64) the domination of the Church over Assisi was restored.Assisi becomes part of the Papal State. Assisi remains under the rule of the Papal State until 1860, when it becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy.
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. But he's 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). St. Francis put Assisi on the map, and making a pilgrimage here.
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.
Chiese e Musei
The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis) is a World Heritage Site. The Basilica complex is composed of two churches built one above the other, the Franciscan monastery and the lower and upper church 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 Giotto and his circle. On September 26, 1997 Assisi was struck by an earthquake. The Basilica was badly damaged (part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside the church and carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue), and was closed for two years for restoration.
Cathedral of San Rufino
The Cathedral of San Rufino (St. Rufinus) is a major church in Assisi, and has been important in the history of the Franciscan order. The construction was started in 1140 according to the designs by Giovanni da Gubbio, as attested by the wall inscription visible inside the apse. It is adorned with three rose-windows and symbolic sculpure. The interior was altered in the 16th century, but there is still the baptismal font where St. Francis and St. Claire were baptized. The Cappella del Sacramento, the wooden choir, the Roman Cistern, the crypt and the museum are points of interest.
Chiesa Nuovo
A little way south of the Palazzo Comunale, on a lower level, is the Chiesa Nuova (1615), a small church on a centralized plan, erected, it is said, on the site of St Francis's birthplace.
Basilica of Santa Chiara
South of the cathedral, in the Piazza Santa Chiara, stands the Gothic church of Santa Chiara 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. Under the high altar is the open tomb of St Clare (d. 1253), the enthusiastic disciple of St Francis who founded the order of Clarissines or Poor Clares. In the Capella del Crocefisso on the left side of the nave hangs the “Speaking Cross” from the convent of San Damiano, in front of which St Francis is said to have received the message from God to “go forth and rebuild my house”.
Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
Santa Maria degli Angeli is located in the suburb of Assisi, about 5 km away, the basilica was constructed between 1569 and 1679 enclosing the 9th century little church, the Porziuncola, the most sacred place for the Franciscans. It was here that the young Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and renounced the world in order to become a poor among the poor and thus started the Franciscan movement. To the side of the basilica in the Chapel of the Roses with frescoes by Tiberio d1Assisi. The Museum annex contains works by the Maestro di San Francesco, Giunta Pisano and others.
The Porziuncola Museum
The Porziuncola Museum is a permanent museum located within the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and is an integral part of the pilgrim itinerary that covers the Porziuncola, the Transito chapel and the Cappella delle Rose, in the footsteps of the saint.
Municipal Art Gallery
Housed in the 17th century Palazzo Vallemani, the Pinacoteca is made up of a rich nucleus of frescoes and a number of paintings from the 14th to the 17th century. Works are hung so as to highlight their provenance. Their distinctly secular and urban nature makes for an interesting contrast with the Franciscan nature of Assisi. Artists represented in the collection include Giotto, Puccio Capanna and Andrea d’Assisi.
Cathedral Museum
The Cathedral Museum and Crypt of St Rufino, founded in 1941, offers a secular, spiritual and cultural reading of the diocese. The museum contains archaeological remains, capitols, religious vestments and extremely interesting paintings. The visit ends with the 11th century crypt of St Rufino, locaded directly beneath the cathedral facade, where there are some 12th century frescoes and a 3rd century BC Roman sarcophagus that was used to buty the body of the saint.
Historical buildings and monuments
Northwest of Assisi on the edge of the hill rises the Franciscan friary with its massive substructures. Building began soon after the saint's death. The courtyard and the external passage, from which there are magnificent views, were renewed by Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84).
Rocca Maggiore
From the Piazza di San Rufino the old Via Santa Maria delle Rose ascends to the Rocca Maggiore, a castle high above the town. The future Emperor Frederick II of Swabia spent several years of his childhood here in the care of Conrad of Urslingen, and was baptised in Assisi at the age of three in 1197. The following year, in Conrad's absence, the people of Assisi rebelled and destroyed the castle.The castle remained a ruin until 1367, when Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt the fortress using the western section of outside walls and part of the interior fortifications. In 1458 Jacopo Piccinino, then lord of Assisi, erected the twelve-sided tower and the long curtain wall connecting the castle to the city. In 1478 Pope Sixtus IV restored the castle's keep, while between 1535 and 1538 Pope Paul III built the round tower near the main gate. From here there are panoramic views.
Temple of Minerva
Built in the late Republican period in the 1st century BC, this temple was erected by the quatorvirates Gneus Cesius and Titus Cesius Priscus at their own expense. When a female statue was unearthed here it was thought the temple had been dedicated to Minerva, although the subsequent discovery of a votive plaque to Hercules makes it more likely that the temple had been dedicated to him. The facade has survived surprisingly well, with its six fluted columns supporting corinthian capitals and standing on plinths that rest on the steps leading to the pronaos for lack of space.
Palazzo Capitano del Popolo
Built between 1212 and 1305, this was the first public building to be erected in Piazza del Comune. The facade of the building contains the measures for silk, linen and wool, as well as the outlines of bricks and roof tiles used in building. The first fresco in the cycle of the life of St Francis shows the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo without the upper part of its tower, which was not added until 1305. Restoration work carried out in 1927 considerably altered the original appearance of the building.
Places of Interest
A signposted lane leads left from Porta Cappuccini onto the oak- and ilex-covered slopes of Mt. Subasio, where nestled among the trees is the peacefully isolated hermitage built on the site where St. Francis often withdrew to meditate and pray with his followers. The monks living here will show you around -- they live on alms alone, so a nice tip of a few euro's is appreciated. You'll see the rocky bed where Francis slept, the site where Francis caused water to gush from the rocks, the crevice where he tossed a demon back down to hell, and the ancient ilex tree, now on iron crutches, where the saint preached his sermons to the birds. The hermitage also makes a good starting point for walks in the woods. Monte Subasio is a protected regional park, and there are plenty of marked trails to follow. (Maps are available in town.)
Piazza del Comune
Leaving the lower church we go uphill to the left into the Via San Francesco and its continuation which lead to the Piazza del Comune, the town's main square, built on the site of the Roman forum. Under the Piazza del Comune, accessible via the Museo Civico (entrance on Via Portica) lies the very interesting archeological site known as the Foro Romano, dating from Roman times.
Eventi
Note d'in…chiostro" is a series of concerts organised by the pastoral committee of the Basilica of St Francis' with the aim of offering young Umbrian musicians and singers the chance to show their talents.
Palio di San Rufino - August 25-26
The Assisi company of crossbowmen celebrates the Palio di San Rufino with a competition between the city's three Terzieri factions (San Francesco, San Rufino, Dive Marie). The winning Terziere wins the Drappo, painted by an artist. The Palio is followed by a procession in period costume.
St. Francesco's Day - October 3-4
National celebration in honour of Saint Francis, the Patron Saint of Italy - Religious services in the Basilica of San Francesco and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Related events include shows of folk dancing and song.
Feast of St Claire - August 11
Assisi celebrates the feast day of St Claire with a number of religious and secular events. Interstingly, St Claire is also the patron saint of television.
Music festival Assisi - July 27-30
Seventh Edition of Cambio Festival which will be held in the medieval Palazzo di Assisi Castle. Music in the Castle during the Assisi summer.
Calendimaggio - May
It is a spectacular evocation of medieval and Renaissance costumes and life. The two ancient medieval wards, the “Parte di Sopra” and the “Parte di Sotto”, engage in a spectacular challenge which takes the form of theatre shows, concerts, songs and choruses, dances, processions, archery, crossbow and flag-waving displays. The districts compete in a singing contest among the spectacular floral decorations, flags, torches and candles.
Umbria Jazz Summer - July
This was first held in 1973 and today, it has become the top European jazz festival. All of the greatest contemporary jazz musicians have played at Umbria Jazz. The festival lasts for ten days and is held almost entirely in Perugia's historic district in ancient palaces, squares and parks. Thousand of young people and jazz fans throng to Perugia from all over Europe and the United States.
Sagra Musicale Umbra - September
It is held in Perugia and other Umbrian cities. It was founded in 1937 and has now become one of the most popular cultural events in the region. It focuses on two types of repertoire: sacred music and twentieth-century music. It has also featured numerous debuts. Some of the most important participants have included orchestra directors such as Karajan, Mitropoulus and Muti, and composers such as Britten, Hindemith, Penderecki and Stockhausen.
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