Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
The papal basilica raised over the tomb of Saint Francis and the cradle of Franciscan veneration.
- Location
- Assisi, Italy
- 43.0747° N · 12.6053° E
- Type
- Papal basilica and Franciscan Sacred Convent
- Italian Gothic, with a Romanesque lower church and a soaring upper church
- Dedication
- Saint Francis of Assisi
- Best For
- Pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Francis
- Franciscan spirituality and conversion · Catholic art and the life of a saint told in fresco
- Time Needed
- 1 Hour to Half Day
The Tomb of Francis at the Heart of Assisi
Come here to pray at the tomb of Saint Francis. The basilica is also the foundational shrine of the Franciscan movement and one of the great visual narratives of a saint's life in Western art, but the crypt is the reason pilgrims walk the long piazza.
- Best for
- Pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Francis
- Franciscan spirituality and conversion
- Catholic art and the life of a saint told in fresco
- Quiet prayer at a major shrine
Entering as a pilgrim, not a tourist.
-
Daily Mass in the upper and lower basilicas
-
Sacrament of Reconciliation in many languages
-
Vespers and conventual prayer with the Franciscan community
-
Continuous pilgrim prayer at the tomb in the crypt
Five things, not fifty.
-
01
The crypt
Where Saint Francis is buried with four of his earliest brothers. The natural first stop.
-
02
The Giotto cycle in the upper basilica
Twenty-eight scenes drawing the life of Francis around the nave.
-
03
The Cimabue Crucifixion in the lower transept
One of the earliest and most powerful images of Francis, painted within a generation of his death.
-
04
The reliquary chapel
Holds the tunic, chalice, and personal items traditionally associated with Francis.
How much time, and what to do with it.
-
1 Hour
Enter the lower basilica, descend to the crypt to pray at the tomb of Francis, then walk the upper basilica and the Giotto cycle on the way out.
-
2 Hours
Add the reliquary chapel and the Cimabue and Lorenzetti frescoes in the lower transepts. Sit briefly in either basilica before leaving.
-
Half Day
Pair the basilica with the Cathedral of San Rufino, the parish church of Francis's baptism, and end at the Basilica of Saint Clare on the other side of the old town.
Pray at the tomb first, then read the life of Francis in the frescoes. The basilica works best when the visit moves from devotion to looking, not the other way around.
A Basilica Built Around a Tomb
Saint Francis died at the Portiuncula in 1226 and was canonized two years later. Pope Gregory IX laid the foundation stone of this basilica on the day after the canonization, on a hillside Francis himself had called the Collis Inferni — the hill of the condemned — which he asked to be renamed the Collis Paradisi. The lower church was consecrated in 1230; the upper church and the full complex were consecrated in 1253.
The lower basilica is a low Romanesque-Gothic hall designed for prayer at the tomb, with a darkness that draws attention toward the altars. The upper basilica is one of the earliest Italian Gothic churches, raised as a vessel for the great fresco cycle of the life of Saint Francis traditionally attributed to Giotto, with earlier work by Cimabue and contemporary work by Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini.
A place is significant when it is still used.
The basilica is not a museum. It is a working Franciscan church and a place of continuous pilgrim prayer at the tomb of Francis. Approach it that way: pray first, look later.
- The deliberate descent from the upper basilica to the lower basilica to the crypt — the architecture pulls pilgrims toward the tomb.
- The four companions buried at the corners of the crypt, marking out the first Franciscan brotherhood around their founder.
- How the Giotto cycle reads Francis's life as a continuous conversion rather than a sequence of miracles.
How this place gathers the saints.
Catalogued with source, confidence, and veneration status.
| Object | Type | Confidence | Public veneration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb of Saint Francis | Saint's tomb |
Documented
Burial traditionally venerated here since the 13th century; the hidden tomb was located again beneath the lower basilica in 1818 |
Yes, at the tomb in the crypt | Sacred Convent of Assisi |
| Tombs of four early companions | Companions' tombs |
Documented
Brother Leo, Rufino, Angelo, and Masseo are venerated at the corners of the crypt around Francis |
Yes, in the crypt | Sacred Convent of Assisi |
| Relics traditionally associated with Saint Francis | Personal relics, traditional attribution |
Traditional
The tunic, chalice, and paten are venerated as Francis's by long Franciscan tradition rather than presented as documented beyond dispute |
Yes, in the reliquary chapel of the lower basilica | Sacred Convent of Assisi tradition |
Editorial note Traditional attribution is presented as tradition, never as documentation.
Within walking and the day.
-
Basilica of Saint Clare
Companion basilica
The companion shrine on the southern side of the old town — tomb of Clare and the original San Damiano crucifix.
-
Cathedral of San Rufino
Cathedral of the baptism
The cathedral where Francis and Clare were baptized, between the two basilicas.
-
Porziuncola at Santa Maria degli Angeli
Franciscan cradle and place of death
The small chapel where the Franciscan movement was born and where Francis died, four kilometres down in the plain below the town.
-
Eremo delle Carceri
Franciscan hermitage
The Franciscan hermitage on Mount Subasio above the basilica. The climb begins at the Porta Cappuccini and continues through oak woods to roughly 800 metres — the silence axis the basilicas alone do not give.
How Assisi gathers around Francis and Clare
The Basilica of Saint Francis is not only the burial church of one saint. It is where Assisi's Franciscan memory, the lives of Francis and Clare, the tomb tradition, and the hill town's wider sacred geography meet. These are the connections that hold that ground together.
-
City
Assisi
Assisi holds the basilica at the head of the town, the anchor of its Franciscan identity and pilgrimage.
-
Connected saint
Saint Francis of Assisi
Built over the tomb traditionally venerated as the burial place of Saint Francis, who died at the Porziuncola in 1226.
-
Connected saint
Saint Clare of Assisi
Remembered here with Francis as the co-founder of the Franciscan movement; her body rests nearby at the Basilica of Saint Clare.
-
Companions in the Gospel
St. Francis and St. Clare
Associated in Catholic memory as the founders of the Franciscan and Poor Clare families, bound by a shared life of Gospel poverty.
-
Tomb tradition
Tomb of Saint Francis
Pilgrims venerate the tomb of Saint Francis in the crypt beneath the lower basilica.
DocumentedTraditionally venerated as the burial place of Saint Francis, the tomb was rediscovered beneath the basilica in 1818 and confirmed by the Holy See, according to the official basilica.
-
Related basilica
Basilica of Saint Clare
The basilica raised over the tomb traditionally venerated as the burial place of Saint Clare, across the town from the Basilica of Saint Francis.
-
Franciscan memory
San Damiano
The small church below the walls where, according to tradition, Francis heard the call to rebuild the Church and where Clare later lived in enclosure.
-
Official source
sanfrancescoassisi.org
The official site of the Sacred Convent that cares for the basilica and the tomb of Saint Francis.
Franciscan tradition, public veneration, and official basilica context are distinct. The tomb of Saint Francis is traditionally venerated as his burial place and was rediscovered beneath the basilica in 1818; Saint Clare is remembered here with Francis, though her body rests at the Basilica of Saint Clare. These connections help explain how the basilica fits into a wider Assisi pilgrimage.
Photography is not permitted inside the basilicas. Silence is strictly enforced. The Sacred Convent is a living Franciscan community.
Hero: Wikimedia Commons
Pending review.
Suggest a correction