Sacred City · Italy · Pilgrimage-ready
The hill town of Francis and Clare, with the Porziuncola in the plain below and the hermitage of the Carceri above.
Assisi is a small Umbrian town built into the slope of Mount Subasio. Within a short walk you can stand at the tomb of Saint Francis, the tomb of Saint Clare, the chapel where Francis heard Christ speak from the crucifix, and the cathedral where both were baptized. The Porziuncola and the Eremo delle Carceri lie just outside the walls.
Stifone / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Why This City Matters
Assisi is where Francis was born, walked away from his inheritance in the bishop's square, and gathered his first brothers at the Porziuncola in the plain. Clare followed him into religious life and stayed in enclosure at San Damiano below the southern walls until her death forty-one years later. Their bodies now rest at opposite ends of the old town, with the cathedral of their baptism between them. The Eremo delle Carceri above the town keeps the silence Francis withdrew into; the Santuario della Spogliazione marks the renunciation that began everything, and now also holds the body of Saint Carlo Acutis.
Orientation
A practical guide based on how much time you have.
Walk the spine of the old town: the Basilica of Saint Francis at the western end, the Cathedral of San Rufino at the center, and the Basilica of Saint Clare on the southern side. Pray briefly at the tomb of Francis in the lower crypt and at the tomb of Clare before her preserved crucifix from San Damiano.
Begin at the Basilica of Saint Francis in the morning. Walk through the old town to the Cathedral of San Rufino and the Basilica of Saint Clare. After midday, descend to San Damiano outside the walls, then continue to the Porziuncola at Santa Maria degli Angeli in the valley. Return to Assisi for the evening.
Day 1: the town itself, with the Basilica of Saint Francis, the Cathedral of San Rufino, the Basilica of Saint Clare, and the Santuario della Spogliazione for Saint Carlo Acutis. Day 2: the Franciscan landscape outside the walls, with San Damiano, the Porziuncola, Rivotorto, and the Eremo delle Carceri on Mount Subasio.
The tomb of Francis and the great fresco cycle of his life. The natural first stop in Assisi.
The tomb of Clare and the original San Damiano crucifix that spoke to Francis.
The small chapel where the Franciscan movement was born and where Francis died.
The hermitage on Mount Subasio where Francis withdrew to pray. A quieter counterweight to the basilicas.
Start Here
The first layer of Catholic Assisi: churches, relic chapels, patron saints, martyr memory, and places of prayer.
Tomb of Francis, the great Franciscan fresco tradition
The Upper and Lower Basilicas built into the western edge of Assisi, with the tomb of Saint Francis in the crypt beneath the Lower Basilica. The frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue, and the Lorenzetti shaped the visual memory of Francis for centuries.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi
Relics Tomb of Saint Francis
Tomb of Clare, original San Damiano crucifix
Built in the 13th century on the hillside above the southern town. The body of Saint Clare rests in the crypt, and the original wooden crucifix from San Damiano, the cross before which Francis prayed, is preserved in the side chapel.
Saints Saint Clare of Assisi
Relics Body of Saint Clare, San Damiano crucifix
Conversion of Francis, first Poor Clare community
The small church below the walls where Francis is traditionally said to have heard Christ speak from the crucifix and where Clare and her first sisters lived in enclosure. The buildings retain a 13th-century quietness that the larger basilicas do not.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi
Relics Site of the San Damiano crucifix
Founding chapel of the Franciscan movement
The little 9th-century chapel where Francis gathered his first brothers, received Clare into religious life, and died in 1226. A larger basilica was built around it in the 16th century; the Porziuncola itself stands intact under the central dome.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi
Relics Porziuncola chapel, Cell of the death of Saint Francis
Romanesque cathedral, baptismal font of Francis and Clare
The 12th-century cathedral on the highest piazza of the old town, with one of the finest Romanesque facades in Umbria. The baptismal font traditionally venerated as the place of Francis and Clare's baptism is preserved inside, and the relics of Saint Rufinus, the first patron of Assisi, rest in the crypt beneath the high altar.
Saints Saint Rufinus of Assisi, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare of Assisi
Relics Relics of Saint Rufinus, Baptismal font of Francis and Clare
Mount Subasio, contemplative withdrawal
The hermitage on the slope of Mount Subasio above Assisi, where Francis and his earliest brothers withdrew to pray. The buildings are small, the silence is strict, and the noise of the town below does not climb this high.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi
Body of Saint Carlo Acutis, site of the renunciation
The bishop's church and former palace where, according to tradition, Francis returned his clothes to his father before the bishop. The shrine now also preserves the body of Saint Carlo Acutis, drawing a younger generation of pilgrims to Assisi.
Saints Saint Carlo Acutis, Saint Francis of Assisi
Relics Body of Saint Carlo Acutis
Traditional family house of Francis
A small 17th-century church built over the site long held by local tradition to be the home of Francis's family. Pilgrims visit the small rooms beneath the church associated with his early life; the identification is traditional rather than archaeologically certain.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi
First Franciscan community
The sanctuary in the valley below Assisi built over the small hovels (tuguri) where Francis and his earliest companions lived after their return from Rome and before the move to the Porziuncola. The current church is 19th-century, but the site is part of the foundational Franciscan geography.
Saints Saint Francis of Assisi
Assisi by Theme
Explore Assisi through its distinct Catholic threads. Each leads to different churches, saints, relics, and memories.
Saints Connected to Assisi
A concise guide to saints and blesseds whose lives, relics, missions, or communities help explain Catholic Assisi.
Born and baptized in Assisi, converted at San Damiano, founded his brotherhood at the Porziuncola, and was buried beneath the Basilica that bears his name.
Connected place: Basilica of Saint Francis, San Damiano, Porziuncola
Followed Francis into religious life, founded the Poor Clares at San Damiano, and was buried beneath the Basilica of Saint Clare.
Connected place: Basilica of Saint Clare, San Damiano
Younger sister of Clare who joined her at San Damiano and helped extend the Poor Clares beyond Assisi.
Connected place: San Damiano, Basilica of Saint Clare
First bishop and patron of Assisi, traditionally identified as a martyr. His relics rest in the cathedral that bears his name.
Connected place: Cathedral of San Rufino
Asked to be buried in Assisi out of devotion to Saint Francis. His body is venerated at the Santuario della Spogliazione.
Connected place: Santuario della Spogliazione
Relics & tombs
Shown with source & confidence
Within an hour's walking the pilgrim can stand at the tomb of Francis, the tomb of Clare, the cross that spoke to Francis at his conversion, and the small chapel where he died. The cathedral keeps the relics of Saint Rufinus, the first patron of the city. The Santuario della Spogliazione holds the body of Saint Carlo Acutis.
Basilica of Saint Francis (crypt of the Lower Basilica)
The body of Saint Francis, hidden for centuries and rediscovered in 1818, rests in a stone reliquary at the center of the crypt. The crypt remains a working place of prayer.
Basilica of Saint Clare (crypt)
The body of Clare lies in the crypt of the basilica. The relics of her hair, habit, and personal items are preserved nearby.
Basilica of Saint Clare (Chapel of the Crucifix)
The original Byzantine-style wooden crucifix from San Damiano, the cross before which Francis prayed at his conversion, is preserved in the chapel beside the main nave. A copy remains in the church of San Damiano itself.
Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
The small 9th-century chapel given to Francis by the Benedictines and the cradle of the Franciscan order. Saint Francis died nearby in the cell still preserved within the basilica.
Santuario della Spogliazione
The body of Saint Carlo Acutis, vested in his ordinary clothes, is displayed for veneration. The shrine has become one of the most-visited pilgrimage stops in modern Assisi.
Cathedral of San Rufino
The relics of Saint Rufinus, first bishop and patron of Assisi, rest beneath the high altar of the cathedral he is identified with.
Suggested pilgrimages
1 in Assisi
From the tomb in the lower basilica out to San Damiano, the Porziuncola, and the bare ridge of La Verna where Francis received the stigmata.
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Suggested order. Verify opening hours, transit, and walking conditions before you go.
How My Journey works →Pilgrimage Rhythm
Editorial sequences for reading the city through movement, silence, thresholds, and return.
Early morning / Compression to opening
This rhythm begins beneath the old town rather than at its monuments. Assisi is better understood when the hill is allowed to work on the body first.
The point is not to collect the Franciscan sites quickly. It is to feel the town close around you, then open, then ask you to descend again.
Approach
Begin below the center and walk upward through the medieval streets. The view disappears quickly. Stone walls, narrow passages, and small doorways make the town feel more enclosed before anything becomes grand.
Do not begin with the largest church if the day allows another approach.
Near this movement: Cathedral of San Rufino
Middle
The cathedral stands at the town's old religious heart. Francis and Clare were baptized here, and the font gives the city a quieter beginning than the basilicas. Stay long enough for the Franciscan story to start in ordinary parish life.
Pause near the baptismal memory before moving toward Clare.
Near this movement: Cathedral of San Rufino, Basilica of Saint Clare
Opening
The southern edge of Assisi opens toward the valley. Clare's basilica receives that light differently from Francis's basilica: more austere, more enclosed, still shaped by the crucifix from San Damiano.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Clare
Return
End the first movement without forcing a conclusion. The Basilica of Saint Francis can be approached after the town has taught its scale, contradiction, and slope.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Francis
Assisi is not only a place of arrival. It teaches by narrowing the street, opening the valley, and asking the pilgrim to keep walking.
Late morning or late afternoon / Descent
The walk to San Damiano leaves the protected town and moves into the Franciscan landscape below the walls.
San Damiano should not feel like a side chapel added to the basilicas. It is one of the places where Francis's conversion becomes physically legible.
Threshold
Start at the Basilica of Saint Clare, where the original San Damiano crucifix is preserved. The image that called Francis to rebuild the Church now rests above the town, while the chapel where he prayed waits below.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Clare
Descent
The road drops away from the crowds. The town begins to recede, and the valley becomes more present. This descent matters because San Damiano belongs to fields, olive terraces, and the labor of rebuilding with hands.
Walk without filling the descent with explanation.
Near this movement: San Damiano
Arrival
The chapel does not compete with the basilicas. Its scale is the point. Here the Franciscan story is lower, rougher, and closer to the ground.
Near this movement: San Damiano
Silence
Francis went outward into roads and fields. Clare remained here in enclosure with her sisters. The same place holds both movements without making them identical.
Leave room for the cloister and the view back toward town.
By the time the town rises behind you, Francis's poverty has become less abstract.
Before the main crowds / Descent and ascent
The Basilica of Saint Francis is immense, but the pilgrim should not only read it as monument. Its deepest meaning is below.
The basilica is a contradiction: a vast painted church built for the man who chose poverty. The rhythm begins by accepting that tension rather than smoothing it away.
Entry
Let the darker church come first. The lower basilica keeps the eye low and close before the art and height of the upper church begin to speak.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Francis
Descent
The crypt is the center of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims come here to pray before the tomb of Francis, not to complete a cultural visit. Stay before moving upward.
This is the still point of the basilica.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Francis
Ascent
Only after the tomb should the painted basilica expand. The frescoes carry Francis into public memory, but the body below has already given them weight.
Near this movement: Basilica of Saint Francis
Departure
Outside, the basilica sits at the edge of the town like a final statement. Leave slowly, then let the rest of Assisi answer it rather than compete with it.
Francis is not made smaller by the basilica's scale. The tomb below keeps the whole building accountable.
Suggested Visits
Not full itineraries yet, but practical patterns for prayer, architecture, relics, and saint memory.
The tomb of Francis, the tomb of Clare, and the cathedral between them.
Why it works These three sites sit along the main axis of the old town and can be walked end to end without transit.
Wear modest dress and be ready to remove backpacks before entering the basilicas.
The basilicas in the morning, San Damiano and the Porziuncola in the afternoon.
Why it works Pairs the in-town basilicas with the two essential sites outside the walls without trying to add Mount Subasio.
Plan the descent to San Damiano and the Porziuncola for the afternoon, when the town basilicas are most crowded.
The town one day, the Franciscan landscape the next.
Why it works Two days allows a full encounter with the in-town basilicas and the surrounding Franciscan geography without rushing.
Reserve quieter prayer time for either the Eremo delle Carceri or the Porziuncola rather than only the major basilicas.
Pair the town basilicas with the hermitage on Mount Subasio.
Why it works The Eremo restores the contemplative side of Assisi that the basilicas alone do not show. Best approached after the major churches.
The Eremo can be reached on foot in about an hour uphill from Assisi, or by short taxi or bus. Check the seasonal schedule before going.
A focused Franciscan complement to a Roman pilgrimage.
Why it works Assisi is reachable from Rome in a single train ride and gives a clear Franciscan counterpoint to apostolic Rome.
The train arrives at Santa Maria degli Angeli below the town; the Porziuncola is a short walk from the station, with shuttle buses up to the old town.
Before You Go
The details that shape the pilgrimage experience before you arrive.
One day for the essentials; two days for a full encounter with the in-town basilicas and the surrounding Franciscan sites.
The old town is compact but steeply graded between the western and southern edges. San Damiano, the Porziuncola, Rivotorto, and the Eremo delle Carceri all sit outside the walls.
Trains arrive at Santa Maria degli Angeli below the town; local buses and taxis run up to the old town. The Eremo delle Carceri can be reached on foot, by taxi, or by seasonal bus.
Shoulders and knees must be covered in the basilicas. Carry a scarf or light layer. The Basilica of Saint Francis enforces silence and modesty strictly.
Daily Mass is celebrated in all of the major churches. Vespers at the Basilica of Saint Francis remains one of the best opportunities for prayer with the Franciscan community.
Bag checks at the Basilica of Saint Francis can be slow in high season. Photography rules vary by basilica; the Upper and Lower Basilicas of Saint Francis do not permit photography inside.
Plan around the midday closure that affects most churches in Assisi. Reserve the early morning and late afternoon for the basilicas; use the middle of the day to walk between sites or to rest.
Sacred Map
9 sacred places mapped. Read-only: open any place page to plan a visit.
Plan Your Pilgrimage
Use My Journey to save places for your pilgrimage to Assisi.
