Assisi
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Assisi, The Basilica Of San Francesco And Other Franciscan Sites, 2000); Basilica Papale And Sacro Convento · Assisi, Umbria
A hill town on the flank of Monte Subasio where Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone was born around 1181, gave away his inheritance and founded the order that carries his name. He died in 1226 and the basilica raised over his tomb two years later became the proving ground of Italian painting: the Upper Church carries twenty-eight scenes from his life that scholars have argued over for a century, because nobody can quite prove Giotto painted them. An earthquake in 1997 brought down a vault, killed four people and destroyed frescoes by Cimabue that were then reassembled from three hundred thousand fragments. Entry has always been free and still is. This year is the eight hundredth anniversary of Francis's death, with a Jubilee running to January 2027, and the fourth of October became a national holiday again in Italian law this January, which together make this autumn the busiest the town has seen in a generation.
Piazza San Francesco 2, Assisi, Umbria, 06081, Italy
Basilica free and open daily: Lower Basilica 06:00-19:00, closing 18:00 on Wednesdays; Upper Basilica 08:30-18:45; the tomb 06:00-18:15, with Friday and Saturday 21:00-22:00 for prayer. Santa Chiara, the Eremo delle Carceri, San Damiano and the Porziuncola are free with their own seasonal hours. Rocca Maggiore roughly 10:00-17:00 in winter and 10:00-20:00 in high summer. Sections close for liturgy and celebrations at short notice.