Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tour in English or Italian, led by a resident Franciscan friar. Guided tours are from 9am to
5pm Monday to Saturday; a donation of €5 to €10 per person is suggested.
Rocca Maggiore
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(Via della Rocca; adult/reduced €5/3.50; 10am-sunset) Dominating the city is the massive 14th-
century Rocca Maggiore, an oft-expanded, pillaged and rebuilt hill-fortress offering
360-degree views of Perugia to the north and the surrounding valleys below. Walk up
winding staircases and claustrophobic passageways to reach the archer slots that served
Assisians as they went medieval on Perugia.
FORT
Basilica di Santa Chiara
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(Piazza Santa Chiara; 6.30am-noon & 2-7pm summer, to 6pm winter) Built in the 13th century in
a Romanesque style, with steep ramparts and a striking white and pink facade, the basilica
was raised in honour of St Clare, a spiritual contemporary of St Francis and founder of the
Sorelle Povere di Santa Chiara (Order of the Poor Ladies), now known as the Poor Clares.
She is buried in the church's crypt. The Byzantine cross that is said to have spoken to St
Francis is also housed here.
CHURCH
Basilica di Santa
Maria degli Angeli
(Santa Maria degli Angeli; 6.15am-12.30pm & 2.30-7.30pm) That enormous domed church you
can see as you approach Assisi along the Tiber Valley is the 16th-century Basilica di Santa
Maria degli Angeli, the seventh largest church in the world, some 4km west and several
hundred metres further down the hill from old Assisi.
Built between 1565 and 1685, its vast ornate confines house the tiny, humble Porziun-
cola Chapel , where St Francis first took refuge having found his vocation and given up his
worldly goods, and which is generally regarded as the place where the Franciscan move-
ment started. St Francis died at the site of the Cappella del Transito on 3 October 1226.
CHURCH
Eremo delle Carceri
( www.eremocarceri.it ; 6.30am-7pm summer, to 6pm winter) In around 1205 St Francis
chose these caves above Assisi as his hermitage where he could retire to contemplate spir-
itual matters and be at one with nature. The carceri (isolated places, or 'prisons') along
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