Is Assisi Worth Visiting? Yes — But Come Before the Coaches Arrive

Autore: La Redazione di www.tourleaderpro.com

Is Assisi worth visiting? The Basilica di San Francesco alone — with Giotto's complete fresco cycle of the Life of Saint Francis in the Lower Church and the 28-panel cycle in the Upper Church — makes the answer yes beyond any reasonable doubt. This is one of the supreme achievements of Italian painting, executed between 1296 and 1304, and it transformed the course of European art. Giotto's revolutionary insight — that figures could have weight, emotion, and spatial depth — was worked out on these walls. Everything that came after, including the entire Renaissance, followed from this. You should go. You should go before 9am if possible. And you should give it more than the 45 minutes that tour buses allow.

The Basilica di San Francesco

The Basilica di San Francesco is a double church — the Lower Basilica (built 1228-30, dark, low-vaulted, with an atmosphere of medieval intensity) and the Upper Basilica (built 1230-53, Gothic, light, high-vaulted, with Giotto's cycle). The Lower Basilica: frescoes by Cimabue (damaged, but the damaged Cimabue is still extraordinary), Simone Martini (the Chapel of San Martino — his greatest surviving cycle), Pietro Lorenzetti (the Passion cycle — painted the year of the Black Death, 1320-25, with an emotional directness that suggests Lorenzetti knew what was coming). The Lower Basilica contains the tomb of Saint Francis in the crypt (accessible). The Upper Basilica: Giotto's 28 panels of the Life of Saint Francis (1296-1304) on the nave walls — the foundational work of Western painting. The visual argument: these figures stand, move, gesture, and feel in ways that no painting before them does. They are the first modern people in art history. Entry to the Basilica is free. Groups are requested to book. No photography in the Upper Church.

Assisi Beyond the Basilica

The medieval town of Assisi — pink Subasio stone streets climbing from the valley to the Rocca Maggiore at the summit — is one of the finest intact medieval urban centres in Italy. The Piazza del Comune has a Roman temple (Tempio di Minerva, 1st century BC, with its original Corinthian columns still standing as the facade of a Baroque church). The Eremo delle Carceri (the hermitage where Francis prayed in the forest, 4km above the town) is accessible by foot and gives the closest experience of the Franciscan contemplative tradition available at Assisi — a small complex of cells and chapels built into the cliff face of the Subasio forest, with a spring and an ancient holm oak that tradition says Francis planted. Free, open daily.

Questions: Is Assisi Worth Visiting?

How long should I spend in Assisi?

Minimum 4 hours for the Basilica (Lower and Upper) and the historic centre. A full day adds the Eremo delle Carceri, the Rocca Maggiore (views), and the Basilica di Santa Chiara (Clare of Assisi's church, with the cross that spoke to Francis). Staying overnight transforms the experience: Assisi after the day-trippers leave (they arrive at 10am and leave at 4pm) belongs to the resident monks, the pilgrims, and the remaining guests.

Is Assisi too crowded to enjoy?

At midday in summer: yes, considerably. Before 9am: almost empty. After 5pm: the town recovers. The Basilica at 8am (opening time) has perhaps 30 people; at 11am it has 500. This difference is not marginal — it determines whether you can stand in front of a Giotto and look at it for five minutes or whether you are moved through the room by crowd pressure. The answer to "Is Assisi worth visiting despite the crowds" is: come early, the crowds have not arrived yet.

How do I get to Assisi?

By train: regional service from Perugia (20 min) or from Foligno (20 min — Foligno is on the Rome-Ancona main line). The Assisi station is 5km below the hill town — shuttle bus or taxi. By car: A1 motorway to Valdichiana then E45 to Assisi, approximately 2h45 from Rome, 2h30 from Florence. Parking outside the town walls; the historic centre is ZTL.

Curiosità su Assisi

La decisione di Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone — il giovane figlio di un ricco mercante di Assisi — di abbandonare la famiglia, restituire i beni paterni, e vivere in povertà assoluta avvenne nel 1206, davanti al vescovo di Assisi, in un gesto teatrale che i contemporanei descrissero come pazzesco e che la posterità chiamò fondamento del Francescanesimo. Francesco aveva 24 anni. Morì nel 1226, a 44 anni. In 20 anni, aveva fondato l'ordine dei Frati Minori (che contava 5.000 membri alla sua morte), scritto il Cantico delle Creature (il primo testo letterario in lingua italiana), ricevuto le stigmate (1224, il primo caso documentato nella storia cristiana), e trasformato la comprensione dell'spiritualità cristiana da verticale (Dio sopra, uomo sotto) a orizzontale (Dio nelle creature, nell'acqua, nel fuoco, nella sorella morte). Tutto questo da Assisi. Vedi anche: Umbria · Perugia · Orvieto.