Chiesa Nuova

Just around the corner from Piazza del Comune, almost hidden by the Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), is the small Chiesa Nuova (“New Church”), one of the few examples of 17th-century religious architecture in Assisi.
It was built in 1615, at the behest of the King of Spain Philip III, over the foundation of a building presumed, according to tradition, to be the birthplace of Saint Francis.

Entering you can see in the first pillar on the left the opening to the tiny room sealed by a grating, the place where Pietro di Bernardone is said to have locked up his son Francis after Francis had squandered his wealth to give it to the poor.
From the church you go down to the lower floor, where you can visit what is supposed to have been Pietro di Bernardone’s shop, closed off by a medieval wooden door.
The small parvis has two bronze statues by the sculptor Joppolo, portraying Francis’s parents: Monna Pica, with a chain in her hand, and Pietro di Bernardone, with clothes draped over his arm, in reference to the episode of Francis’s imprisonment at home before being freed by his mother.
The building has a Greek cross plan, with a dome rising above the center, at the intersection of the nave and transepts.

The interior is covered with 17th-century frescoes by artists who did many works in Assisi. Worthy of note is the work by Cesare Sermei, who painted various episodes from the life of Saint Clare in the Chapel of the Crucifix; in the Chapel of San Bernardino there are scenes from the life of the Saint Francis; in the chancel is a canvas depicting the Dream of Saint Francis and on the side walls the Martyrdom of the Franciscans in Flanders and the Martyrdom of the Franciscans in Morocco.
The 17th-century painters Vincenzo and Giacomo Giorgetti, Andrea Polinori and Tommaso da Ascoli also worked on the decoration of the church.

Following a narrow street along the side of the Chiesa Nuova, you come the Oratory of San Francesco Piccolino, a vaulted room that preserves traces of 14th-century frescoes.
According to tradition, evoked by the inscription on the arch over the entrance, this is said to be the place where Monna Pica, Francis’s mother, gave birth to her son, in direct connection with his identification as an alter Christus: “This oratory was the stable of an ox and a donkey. In it was born the blessed Francis, mirror of the world.”

Assisi for everyone

Do you need more information on the accessibility of the monument? We have a dedicated section where you can find all the useful information for people with motor disabilities to visit Chiesa Nuova