Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To really feel the spirituality of Assisi, do as St Francis did and make the pilgrimage into
the surrounding wooded hills. Many make the trek to
Eremo delle Carceri
or
Santuario di San
Damiano
on foot. The tourist office has several maps, including a route that follows in St
Francis' footsteps to Gubbio (18km). A popular spot for hikers is nearby
Monte Subasio
.
Local bookshops sell walking and mountain-biking guides and maps for the area.
Bicycle rentals are available at
Angelucci Andrea Cicli Riparazione Noleggio
( 075 804 25
50;
www.angeluccicicli.it
; Via Risorgimento 54a; bike rental per hr/day €5/20)
in Santa Maria degli
Angeli.
CHURCH TOUR
Basilica di San Francesco
»
Length
: 1½ hours
»
See
Click here
Entering the Romanesque
lower church
, immediately to your left is the
Cappella di San Martino
,
bearing the imprint of Sienese genius Simone Martini, whose 10-piece fresco cycle (1313-1318)
spells out the life and deeds of St Martin of Tours. Pietro Lorenzetti's frescoes depicting
The Passion
of Christ
(1320) dance across the walls of the left transept, while Cimabue's
Madonna Enthroned
with Child, St Francis and Four Angels
(1289) will hold you captive in the right transept. The vault
above the high altar showcases the quadriptych allegorical marvel of the
Quattro Vele
(1315-20), an
ode to St Francis' virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience, alongside a fresco showing the saint's
for almost 600 years, it was discovered in 1818 following a 52-day dig, and painstakingly restored in
2011.
Steps lead from the courtyard to the
upper church
, the brighter twin of the two, lit by a cosmat-
esque rose window. In the
nave
draw your gaze heavenwards to cross-rib vaults shimmering with tiny
stars like a midnight sky. The walls are a giant canvas for one of the world's greatest works of art: the
28 fresco cycle
Life of St Francis
(1297-1300), widely attributed to Florentine master Giotto, though
this is still a bone of contention for art historians. Contemplate emotive works such as the
Renunci-
ation of Worldly Goods
,
Miracle of the Spring
and
Death and Ascension of St Francis
. Painted in the
spirit of artistic devotion, they are a fascinating window on the life of the poverty-preaching saint.
Above them, frescoes depicting scenes from the
Old and New Testament
unfold, from the
Creation
of the World
through to the
Three Marys at the Sepulchre
. Decay and oxidation have reduced Cim-
abue's frescoes (1280) in the apse and transepts to ghostly silhouettes, rendering them all the more en-
igmatic;
The Crucifixion
shows St Francis kneeling below the cross.
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