Papal Basilica of Saint Francis and the Sacred Convent

Tourists who go up the hill to Assisi from Santa Maria degli Angeli are struck by the majesty of the Franciscan complex, which occupies the entire southern side of the town.

The building is one of the best known and most visited places and consists of two churches, one on top of the other: the Lower Church and the Upper Church. The Lower Church was built starting in 1228, two years after the death of Francis, to preserve his mortal remains. The site was known as the Colle dell’Inferno (“Hill of Hell”), a place which according to tradition was used for putting criminals to death. Francis died in the Chapel of the Transit, near the Porziuncola, and his body was carried in a solemn procession to the Church of San Giorgio, where it remained until 1230, the year in which the Lower Church was completed and was ready for his tomb.

The Lower Church is entered from a large square surrounded by a 15th-century portico; the interior has a Latin cross plan, with walls frescoed by some of the most important Italian artists of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Foremost among these are Cimabue, author of the Madonna and Child with Saint Francis, in the transept; Giotto, who painted the decorations in the Chapel of Mary Magdalene, the right transept and the vault above the main altar; Simone Martini, who frescoed the San Martino Chapel, and Pietro Lorenzetti, who painted the left transept.

Stairs go down from the Lower Church into the crypt, built in 1818, the most sacred place of the entire complex; the present-day neo-Gothic forms come from the restoration by the architect Ugo Tarchi in the 1920s. Above the altar is the stone coffin holding the remains of the Saint; next to it is a votive lamp that burns oil donated to the Basilica every year by a different region of Italy; behind it are the tombs of Francis’s companions: Rufino, Angelo, Masseo and Leo.

The Upper Church, built from 1230 to 1253, was intended for the celebration of solemn rites. The single nave interior is illuminated by large stained glass windows and is entirely decorated with frescoes. Especially worthy of note are those by Cimabue in the transept, the twenty-eight Episodes from the Life of Saint Francis painted by Giotto and the Stories of the Old and New Testaments in the upper part of the nave. The simple gabled façade has a Gothic portal and a splendid rose window. The convent also holds a great wealth of cultural materials and art works in the archives, library and Treasure Museum.

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 Papal Basilica of Saint Francis and the Sacred Convent