St. Francis Way - Assisi

Travelling across more mountainous terrain, I passed through the small villages of Mengara and Bellugello then had a quick stop in Barcaccia to see the ancient farmhouse St Francis used to rest in. Gently descending amid olive trees and vineyards, I crossed the stone bridge of Tescio River at the foot of Mount Subasio. A steep narrow road brought me to the entrance of Assisi via the San Giacomo Gate and to the St Francis Basilica.

Assisi is a town in Umbria, flanked by Mount Subasio to its west. It is the birthplace of St Francis and Latin poet Propertius (c.50BC). There are two castles and a number of churches that together were designated UNESCO sites in 2000 under the title of "Franciscan Structures of Assisi".

The main church is the Basilica of Saint Francis. A Roman Catholic church it is an important place for Christian pilgrims. Built into the side of a hill, construction began in 1228 and consists of a crypt where the saint was interred and two churches: the Upper Church and the Lower Church. Designed in a combined Romanesque and Gothic style, both churches are decorated with frescoes by painters of the late medieval period. A free-standing bell tower stands to the left of the church.

Besides the basilica is the Friary of St Francis. It was built with pink and white stone from Mount Subasio and has 53 Romanesque arches. Overlooking the valley below, the friary looks like a formidable fortress. Although it was occupied since 1220, the construction took a couple of centuries to complete and you can see the mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles within its walls. Today the friary is a library and art museum.

St Francis is the patron saint of Italy and the founder of the Franciscan order. He is one of the most popular Catholic saints in history. Born in 1181 to a wealthy family, he was initially named Giovanni. This changed when his father, who on business in France, at the time of his birth started calling him Francesco. It stuck and he was renamed. Coincidentally he also had great aptitude for learning French. Francis lived an indulgent life enjoying fine clothes and spending lavishly.

Sometime in 1202 he joined a military expedition and was captured, spending a year as a prisoner and falling ill. This experience forced him to re-evaluate his life and began his spiritual journey. Over the coming years he nursed lepers, begged for stones to repair churches, began preaching repentance and peace, established a set of rules to live by and requested papal approval for his order.

In 1219 as part of the Fifth Crusade, Francis set out for the Holy Land and Egypt to try and convert the Muslim sultan. According to Father Cusato, a specialist in the medieval Franciscan order, the two met "under the sultan's tent and discussed interfaith conflict, war and the search for peace" and seems to have been a transformative experience. Because of this encounter the Franciscan order has had an ongoing presence in the Holy Land to this day.

Upon his return from the Holy Land he continued to refine the rules of his order and established more discipline as requested by the Pope. In 1224 he received the stigmata, marks of Christ's wounds and two years later due to ill health he passed away. Francis was canonised in 1228 and his remains are interred in the Basilica of Saint Francis.

Looming over the town from the hill is Rocca Maggiore, an 800 years old fortress with imposing bastions and battlements. In front of the castle is a piazza with spectacular views of the Spoleto Valley and the town of Assisi. With a natural defensive position above the town, records indicated that fortifications have existed on this site well before the Romans. The earliest structure on this site was a German feudal castle erected in late 12thC, however, following an uprising by the people of Assisi the castle was destroyed. Two centuries later, Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt the castle using the outer walls and some of the fortifications of the ruined castle. Another century later, a twelve sided tower and the curtain wall was added connecting the castle to the town. The castle has been recently renovated functioning as an art and exhibition centre and is open to visitors.

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