The guided tour of Assisi will make you discover not only the places directly connected to St. Francis and Saint Chiara, but also all the beauty of a typical Umbrian medieval village with its characteristic streets. It starts from the gateway to the most famous village, Porta San Francesco between the medieval walls and a few steps away we find the square, renamed Colle del Paradiso, with the beautiful Basilica of Saint Francis.
Inside we visit the Upper Church in Gothic style and famous for the magnificent cycle of frescoes by Giotto with scenes from the Old and New Testament and the life of St. Francis; the Lower Church instead is in Romanesque style, entirely covered with frescoes and stuccos in gold and with a sepulchral role with the Crypt of St. Francis, carved into the rock, the Tomb of the Saint and the Chapel of the Relics.
After visiting this spiritual place we enter the characteristic streets of the village, discovering one of the most beautiful squares with the Palace of the Capitano del Popolo, which in the 14th century was the seat of the Commander of the Militia, with the suggestive Captain's Tower and its clock. On the Town Square, once a Roman forum, we can admire the Corinthian columns of the Temple of Minerva which was transformed into the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva with baroque decorations inside; very beautiful is also the Palace of the Priors and the elegant Fountain of the three lions that adorn the square.
We continue the tour by visiting the Cathedral of Saint Rufino, the oldest church in Assisi and an important place of Franciscan worship in the Umbrian-Gothic style with the baptismal font inside where S. Francesco and S. Chiara were baptized and where San Francesco made the his first preaching; some sections of the pavement are in glass and you can see the Roman remains on the base of the cathedral.
Among souvenir shops, panoramic views of the valley and typical restaurants of Umbria, we end our guided tour by exploring the Church of Saint Chiara inside, which followed the teaching of St. Francis founding the Order of the Poor Clares; the facade is in pink and white stone and inside the church we find the Crucifix that spoke to Saint Francesco in the Hermitage of Saint Damiano, the tomb and the relics of the Saint.
