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Apart from religious buildings too important to not be considered solely
the heritage of Assisi such as the basilica of St.
Francis, the tourist can also visit the churches of St.
Clare and St.Peter. The first was constructed
in the Gothic style between 1257 and 1265, the second is a little older
and decorated with an elegant middle portal with three rose-windows.
The Cathedral, dedicated to the Patron Saint St. Rufino, vaunts a splendid and unaltered
facade with sculptures and reliefs; the interior, however, has undergone
much reconstruction during the centuries which have distorted the original
project dating back to the 13th century.
On the Town Square situated on the ancient Forum, you will find the Priors'
Palace (1337), the Palace of the People's
Captain (12th century) and the temple of Minerva,
built during the augustean period with pronaos, columms and corinthian
capitals which are still intact.
Nearby, places which are connected with the life of St. Francis can be
visited, sich as the Eremitage of the Prisons, immersed in a thick wood
of oaks and ilex on the slopes of the Subasio Mountain, and the convent
of St. Damian, which was built up around the oratory were, according
to tradition, the Cross spoke to the Saint.
Finally, in the plain, the impressive basilica of
Saint Mary of the Angels was built according to the plans of Alessi
between 1569 and 1679 to protect the Porziuncola Chapel, which was the
first simple meeting-place of the Francescan brotherhood.
All those who have the good luck of visiting this splendid town have
to agree with who says that the beauty of town goes beyond a short, and
necessarily incomplete list of works of art more or less extraordinary,
but is however to be found in the atmosphere of places which the story
and the faith of the Saint have rendered unique all over the world.
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