Assisi — Basilica di San Francesco e Giotto
Assisi (UNESCO 2000, rif. 990) è il luogo dove la pittura italiana moderna è nata: i 28 affreschi di Giotto nella Basilica Superiore (1296–1304 CE) rappresentano il salto che separa l’arte medievale astratta dall’arte rinascimentale narrativa — figure tridimensionali, emozioni leggibili, spazio rappresentato come profondità.
At a glance
Assisi Umbria (43.0707 N 12.6141 E UNESCO WHS 2000 reference 990 Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites: the UNESCO site (the 14 Franciscan monuments of Assisi: the Basilica of San Francesco (the main monument) + 13 other sites (the Tempio di Minerva/Santa Maria sopra Minerva (I BCE CE); the Rocca Maggiore (1360 CE); Santa Chiara (1257–1265 CE); the Oratorio dei Pellegrini; the Palazzo dei Priori); the life of Francesco (Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone (c.1181–1226 CE): born in Assisi to a wealthy cloth merchant (Pietro di Bernardone) and his French wife (Pica de Bourlemont): the conversion (1204–1205 CE: after a period of illness following a military defeat near Collestrada, Francesco heard a voice in the church of San Damiano near Assisi telling him to “repair my church”: this began the renunciation of his father’s wealth and the founding of the Franciscan order); the stigmata (September 17, 1224 CE: at La Verna (the mountain hermitage near Arezzo): Francesco received the wounds of Christ on his hands, feet, and side: the first documented stigmata in Christian history): the death (October 3, 1226 CE: at the Porziuncola in Santa Maria degli Angeli, 4 km from Assisi); the canonization (July 16, 1228 CE: 2 years after his death: by Pope Gregory IX (who was present in Assisi); the foundation of the Basilica (begun July 17, 1228 CE: the day after the canonization: designed by Fra Elia da Cortona (c.1180–1253 CE): the unusual double-church structure (2 superimposed churches: the lower for private contemplation, the upper for public preaching) was designed to serve the 2 functions of the Franciscan order simultaneously).
Key facts
- I 28 affreschi di Giotto nella Basilica Superiore (1296–1304 CE) e il perché rappresentano il momento di fondazione della pittura europea moderna: the Giotto frescoes of the Basilica Superiore (the 28 scenes of the “Life of Saint Francis” (the “Storie di San Francesco”): painted 1296–1304 CE in 3 tiers around the nave of the upper church: the attribution (the frescoes are traditionally attributed to Giotto di Bondone (c.1267–1337 CE) based on Giorgio Vasari’s “Lives of the Artists” (1550 CE): the attribution is accepted by most scholars but debated by a minority who attribute the cycle to an anonymous “Master of the St Francis Cycle”); the innovation (what makes these frescoes the birth of modern painting: (1) the figures are three-dimensional (they have weight, they cast shadows, they overlap each other): this is in contrast to all previous medieval painting (the Byzantine gold-background icon style) where figures are flat and symbolic; (2) the narrative coherence (each scene tells a story that can be followed without explanatory text: the gestures and facial expressions communicate the emotion of the narrative); (3) the architectural space (behind the figures, Giotto paints buildings that recede into the picture space (a rudimentary perspectival space, not yet mathematically correct): these are the first Western paintings after Classical antiquity to represent interior space convincingly); the earthquake (September 26, 1997 CE: the Umbria earthquake (magnitude 6.1): 2 sections of the ceiling of the Basilica Superiore collapsed, destroying portions of 4 Giotto frescoes (scenes 1-4 in the first bay): the restoration (the fragments were collected and digitally scanned; the reconstruction took until 1999 CE))
- GPS (Basilica di San Francesco, Piazza Inferiore di San Francesco): 43.0745° N, 12.6050° E
History
Da Francesco 1181 CE al UNESCO 2000 (the most precisely Assisi zone history: the medieval Assisi (the commune of Assisi: a free city-state in the Duchy of Spoleto; the family background of Francesco (the Bernardone family: the wealthy cloth merchants who imported French fabrics: hence the name “Francesco” (= “the French one”: his mother Pica was probably French); the construction of the Basilica (the construction timeline: Phase 1 (the Lower Basilica): 1228–1253 CE (Fra Elia da Cortona as master builder); Phase 2 (the Upper Basilica): 1239–1253 CE (the same architect); the fresco campaigns (the Lower Basilica frescoes: Cimabue (1280s CE), Pietro Lorenzetti (1315–1320 CE), Simone Martini (1322–1326 CE): the most important painters of the generation before Giotto; the Upper Basilica frescoes (the Giotto cycle, 1296–1304 CE): the commission (probably from Giovanni di Muro della Marca, the Minister General of the Franciscans 1296–1304 CE)); the earthquake (September 26, 1997 CE: the Umbrian sequence (two shocks: 2:33 AM and 11:40 AM; magnitude 5.7 and 6.0): the collapse of portions of the vaulted ceiling of the Basilica Superiore: 4 monks and 2 restoration workers killed by falling stone: the 100,000 fragments of Giotto fresco collected from the floor and digitally reconstructed); the UNESCO inscription (2000 CE: reference 990).
What you see
Basilica Inferiore (tomba Francesco 1230 CE, Cimabue affreschi, Lorenzetti Crocifissione 1315 CE), Basilica Superiore (Giotto 28 scene 1296-1304 CE), Santa Chiara 1257-1265 CE (Croce di San Damiano che parlò a Francesco), Piazza del Comune (Tempio di Minerva I sec. BCE CE facciata intatta) (the most precisely Assisi zone visit (half day): the route (start at the Basilica di San Francesco, Piazza Inferiore di San Francesco (free entry; dress code enforced: shoulders covered, no shorts; the ticket for the Lower Basilica = free: the tomb of Francis in the crypt (accessible from inside the Lower Basilica: 8:30–18:00 daily; the tomb (1818 CE: the rediscovery: the tomb was hidden in 1442 CE for fear of theft of the saint’s relics and not found again until 1818 CE: 10 years of excavation by architect Brizi; the crypt has 4 niches with the urns of the “4 amici” (the 4 companions of Francis: Brothers Leone, Rufino, Masseo, Angelo)))); the Upper Basilica (enter from the main facade or from the connecting corridor inside the Basilica: the Giotto cycle (the sequence: start from the left transept and move clockwise; scenes 1–14 on the left wall, 15–28 on the right wall; the most important scenes: #6 (Francis renounces his possessions: the father grabs the clothes; the Bishop covers Francis), #12 (Francis preaches to the birds), #18 (Francis receives the stigmata at La Verna), #20 (the death of Francis)))
Practical information
- Come raggiungere Assisi da Roma, Firenze e Perugia, e come visitare la Basilica evitando le ore di punta dei gruppi: il trasporto (Roma Termini → Assisi: Trenitalia (2h30 con cambio a Foligno o Terontola; €14.50; o Frecciarossa → Perugia + bus €22 totale)); Firenze SMN → Assisi: Trenitalia (2h con cambio a Terontola; €18; o Frecciarossa → Perugia + bus €29 totale)); Perugia → Assisi: bus APM Perugia (50 min; €3.10; ogni 30 min) o Trenitalia (25 min; €4)); da Assisi stazione (il centro storico è 5 km dalla stazione in salita: bus C (ogni 20 min; €1.30) o taxi (€10)); le ore di punta (evitare la Basilica Superiore (Giotto) tra le 10:00 e le 14:00 in luglio-agosto: i gruppi di pellegrini giungono in pullman; l’alternativa: arrivare alle 8:30 (apertura) o alle 15:30 dopo la pausa pranzo; la Basilica chiude a 18:00); i giorni da evitare (il 4 ottobre (Festa di San Francesco, patrono d’Italia): la folla di 100.000+ pellegrini rende la visita impossibile)
Getting there
Roma Termini → Assisi: Trenitalia (2h30 cambio Foligno, €14.50). Da stazione: bus C (€1.30, 20 min). GPS Basilica: 43.0745/12.6050. Ingresso gratuito (8:30–18:00).
Nearby
- Perugia — Centro storico medievale, Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria (Perugino, Piero della Francesca) — 25 km (bus APM 50 min €3.10 o Trenitalia 25 min €4; Galleria Nazionale: €8; Perugino “Pala dei Decemviri” 1495 CE)
- Orvieto — Duomo 1290–1350 CE (facciata gotica, Cappella di San Brizio, Luca Signorelli 1499–1504 CE) — 60 km (Trenitalia da Perugia 55 min €8 o da Roma 1h15 Frecciarossa €19; Duomo + Cappella San Brizio €5)
Gallery
Sources
- Wikipedia, Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi; Francis of Assisi; Giotto di Bondone, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites, WHS reference 990, inscribed 2000
- Belting, Hans. Die Oberkirche von S. Francesco in Assisi. Berlin: Mann, 1977
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