Our trail begins from the square in front of the Upper Church of St. Francis, to the right of which there is a path along the wall that borders the wooded area.
According to tradition, the area on which the Basilica stands was called the hill of Hell as it was used as a refuge by brigands and criminals. Nevertheless, after the construction of the church and the improvement of the wood by Francis with his spiritual wandering there, it was then renamed the hill of Paradise.
The first part of this trail is called Selva di San Francesco and belongs to the Sacred Convent. The second part is the actual St. Francis’s Wood, belonging to FAI (Italian National Trust) since 2008.
At the beginning of the trail, you are immediately welcomed by a universally symbolic work: the Bell of Peace, designed in 1986 to celebrate the Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for world peace and justice, held in Assisi in the presence of Pope John Paul II. The structure, consisting of four pillars surmounted by metal arches from which a bell hangs, represents the union of the four world religions, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, in the quest and hope for a world without any more wars. The visitor can break the surrounding silence by trying to ring the bell and communicate with the spirit of the work.
Continue to descend to find on your left a series of statues linked to the theme of peace and respect for human beings donated at the time of the convent Friar Minors.
The trail you are gradually following leaves the noises of the town behind and envelopes you in the sound of nature, with chirping birds and trees stretching out beneath the sun. Here it feels you can almost connect with the simple, fulfilling life of the Saint of Assisi. Once past the fourteenth century wall that separates the Selva del Bosco, you also begin to hear and clearly see the running water just below as you stand on the bridge called the Ponte dei Galli.
When you get to the valley bottom, you’ll find what remains of the Ponte dei Galli Hospital, an ancient building already operating in the mid-13th century, the management of which passed from the friars to the Benedictine nuns at the end of the century. The hospital welcomed and gave hospitality to the pilgrims passing though, the poor and the sick. The monastery had a vegetable garden for food and the nearby River Tescio provided the water for everyday requirements.
A tiny Romanesque church, devoted to Santa Croce, enhances the complex.
The garden in front of the building is very suitable if you need a rest, lying in the sun on a beautiful spring day.
From here you can proceed along the path running alongside the Tescio on the right-hand side, along which you can find traces of the calcinaie, ditches dug below ground to fire the stones and produce lime.
The path comes to an end in a clearing, from which you can admire the hidden side of the imposing Rocca Maggiore, a military fortress overlooking the town of Assisi from the top of the hill, and you are literally surrounded by the Third Paradise, a piece of land art by Michelangelo Pistoletto. This work, created and donated to FAI in 2010, consists of 121 olive trees arranged in three circles to form the sign of infinity to symbolize the union between the natural and the artificial world, in the hope of a future transformation of society and a new phase of humanity.
To understand the sign and its shape you can walk up to the nearby Torre Annamaria, a 14th-century defense structure for a factory.
From here you can now turn back to Santa Croce, cross the river and follow the trail on the other side as far as the building of an ancient mill dating back to the 12th century.
The trail has areas for a little picnic and to enjoy the surrounding green spaces.
