SELF-GUIDED EXCURSION
Directions:
Airport "Sant'Egidio" 12 KM. from Assisi (Connected only by taxi) - Tel. +3975592141 .
International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci" Rome Fiumicino, km. 235 from Assisi - Tel +39665951.
Dayly connections by bus (SULGA) Tel. +39755009641

By train:
Raylway Firenze-Terontola-Perugia-Foligno - Raylway station Assisi/S. Maria degli Angeli, connected to the city by bus (APM), Green Tel:800-512141 - Tel +39755067894

By car:
From Venice and North-East:
Highway A 14 "Adriatica", exit Cesena (150 km from Assisi). Superway to Perugia (E 45), exit Assisi. From Milano and North-West:
Highway A 1 "del Sole", Exit Valdichiana till Perugia, then direction Cesena (E45) for the last 15 km.
From the South:
Highway A 14 "Adriatica", exit Civitanova Marche, then direction Foligno - Perugia, exit Assisi.
Highway A 1 "del Sole", exit Orte, then direction Perugia - Cesena till exit Assisi.

A Little History
Above the green Umbrian plain Assisi lies on a spur of Mount Subasio and is dominated by the Rocca, a medieval fortress and grim reminder that the Franciscan glory sprang from a soil bathed with the blood of many battles. Assisi was one of the early settlements of the Italian people and, although Umbran in origin, Assisi was influenced by the nearby Etruscan settlements.
Under the name Asisium, it became a flourishing Roman municipality and the birthplace of the poet Propertius. The martyr bishop Saint Rufino first preached Christianity here, in the 3rd century.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the city was sacked and devastated by the barbarians: Totila razed it to the ground; recaptured by the Byzantines, conquered by the Lombards. Subject for a considerable period to the Duchy of Spoleto, it flourished again during the 11th and 12th centuries with the first experiments as an independent township. Charlemagne conquered it: then in 1177 Frederick Barbarossa gave it as a feudal holding to the duke Conrad of Lutzen to whose care the young Frederick II was entrusted. But the real glory of Assisi began when at the dose of the 12th century Saint Francis and Saint Clare were born within its walls. From that time onward Assisi attracted Christian pilgrins of the whole world.
After a somewhat frivolous youth, Francis received the call of God: he left the riches and ease of his paternal home; and clothed in sacking with a rope girdle he went about as the herald of Christ, preaching a spiritual renewal and singing the beauty of Gods whole creation. The climax of his life came on Mount Alvernia where he received the Stigmata. Stretched on the bare ground of the Porzioncula at Saint Mary of the Angels he died on October 3rd 1226.
Not long after his death the struggle with Perugia, the Pope and Emperor were renewed. The city passed under the jurisdiction of one despot after the other and was also tom as under by the bloody rivalry between the local factions of the Parte di Sopra (Upper Part) led by the Nepis family, and the Parte di Sotto (Lower part) led by the Fiumi. Then followed more brutal sackings at the hands of the Baglioni and Valentino.
Early in the 16th century Assisi finally found peace though not liberty when it fell under the jurisdiction of the Papal states; and with the exception of a brief period during the Napoleonic invasion, it remained thus until 1860.At present Assisi is an international tourist centre. Its treasures of history and art, the beauty of the scenery and countryside alike and also the sense of peace, which is so characteristic of this place, attract visitors and pilgrims alike. The rose coloured stone of the buildings reflects the light in quite a peculiar way; the narrow alleys and sudden comers of unexpected beauty, all contribute to make a unique impression in this city which at every turn recalls the beloved "Poverello". This terraced city lies 424 metres above sea level overlooking the whole of the Umbrian plain and it is a refuge for anyone in search of quiet and relaxation. The climate is dry and sunny.

DO-IT-YOURSELF WALKING TOUR
Cattedrali di San Rufino -built in the mid-12th century at Piazza San Rufino, the Duomo of Assisi is graced with a Romanesque facade, greatly enhanced by rose windows. It's one of the finest churches in the hill towns, as important as the one at Spoleto. Adjoining the cathedral is a bell tower or campanile. Inside, the church has been baroqued, an unfortunate decision that lost the purity that the front suggests. St. Francis and St. dare were both baptized bere. Ifs open daily from 7 am to noon and 2 to 7 pm. It costs 2,000 lire ($1.25) to visit the crypt.

BASILICA OF SANTA CHIARA -On Piazza Santa Chiara is dedicated to the "Little plant of Blessed Francis", as St. Clare liked to describe herself. Born in 1193 into one of the richest and noblest families of Assisi, Clare was to give all her wealth to the poor and to found, together with St. Francis, the Order of the Poor Clares. Pope Alexander IV canonized her in 1255. Pope Pius XII declared her patroness of Television in 1958. It was decided to entrustto her this new means of social communication on the basis of a vision that she related she had on Christmas Eve in 1252 in which she saw the manger and heard the friars sing in the Basilica of St. Francis while she was bedridden in the Monastery of San Damiano.
On entering, one's attention is caught by striking Crucifix behind the main altar, a painting on wood dating from the lime of the church itself (circa 1269). The work is by 'The Master of St. dare", who is also responsible for the beautiful icons on either side of the transept. An oft-reproduced fresco of the Nativity from the 14th century can be admired in the left transept
The closest bus stop to the Basilica of Santa Chiara (Clare) is to be found near Porta Nuova, the eastern gate to the city at the beginning of viale Umberto I. The bus in question does not bear a number; it departs from the depot in piazza Matteotti for its first run to the train station at 5:40 am and concludes its final run at 9:40 pm. Buses arrive at half-hour intervals. Admittance to the basilica is free; however, the custodian turns away visitors in shorts, miniskirts, plunging necklines, and backless attire. It is open November through March, daily from 6:30am to noon and 2 to 6pm; April through October, daily from 6:30am to 12:15 pm and 2 to 7pm.

TEMPLE OF MINERVA -opens onto piazza del comune, the heart of Assisi. The square is a dream for a lover of architecture from the 12th through the 14th century. A pagan structure, with six Corinthian columns, the Temple of Minerva dates from the 1st century B.C. With Minerva-like wisdom, the people of Assisi let it stand, and turned it into a baroque church inside so as not to offend the devout. Adjoining the temple is the 13th century Tower of the people, built by Ghibelline supporters.

BASILICA DI SAN FRANCISCO and the Sacro Convento -This important church, which consists of both an upper and lower church, houses some of the most important cycles of frescoes in Italy, including works by such pre-Renaissance giants as Cimabue and Giotto. Both churches were built in the first part of the 13th century, the lower one dating from 1228-1230 and the upper one from 1230-1253 -and a crypt dug in 1818 which houses the Saint's tomb.
Upon entering the upper church through the principal doorway, look to your immediate left to see one of Grotto's most celebrated frescoes, that of St. Francis preaching to the birds. In the nave of the upper church you'll find the rest of the cycle of 27 additional frescoes, some of which are by Giotto, although the authorship of the entire cycle is a subject of controversy. In the cycle, we see pictorial evidence of the rise of humanism that led to Giotto and Italy's splits from the rigidity of Byzantium.
Proceed up to the nave to the transept and turn left to find a masterpiece of Cimabue's, the Crucifixion. Time has robbed the frescoe of its former radiance, but its power and ghostlike drama remain. From the transept, proceed down the stairs through the two-tiered cloisters to the lower church, which will put you in the south transept. Look for Cimabue's faded but masterly Virgin and Child with four angels and St. Francis looking on from the far right. The fresco is often reproduced in detail as one of Cimabue's greatest works. On the other side of Transept is the deposition from the cross, a masterpiece by thatSienese artist Pietro Lorenzetti, plus a Madonna and child with St. John and St. Francis (Stigmata showing). Finally, under the lower church is the crypt of St Francis.

EREMO DELLE CARCERI - (Prison's Hermitage) 2 1/2 miles cast of Assisi is from 14th and 15th centuries. The "Prison" is not a penal institution but rather a spiritual retreat. It is believed that St. Francis retired to this spot for meditation and prayer. Out back is a gnarled, moss-covered ilex (or live oak) tree, more than 1,000 years old, where St. Francis is believed to have blessed the birds, after which they are said to have flown in the four major directions of the compass to symbolize that franciscans, in coming centuries, would spread out from Assisi all over the world.

ROCCA MAGGIORE - (Great Fortress) sits astride a hill overlooking Assisi. It should be visited if for no reason than for the view of the Umbrian countryside from its ramparts. The present uilding-now in ruins-dates from the 14th century, and the origins of the structure go back beyond lime.