Umbria Franciscan Itinerary La Verna - Assisi
La Verna and Montecasale (in Tuscany) have a great importance in the life of Saint Francis.
Photo © Roberto Romano
On the wall of the right-hand transept, Cimabue painted
the group with the Madonna enthroned and Saint Francis , which is
highly renowned since the figure of the Saint has always been considered to
come closest to being a faithful portrait of the Poverello.
Of additional importance is the cycle of frescoes in the left-hand arm of
the transept, representing the "stories of the Passion of Christ"
painted by Pietro Lorenzetti (first decades of the 14th century). Intensely
dramatic in impact is the Deposition of Jesus from the cross followed by
Saint Francis receiving the stigmata and the Crucifixion. The painting by
Lorenzetti The Madonna of the sunsets represents the Virgin with Christ in
spiritual conversation with Saints John the Evangelist and Francis.
The lower Basilica contains several relics of the Saint, including the
authentic text of the rule of the first Franciscan order and the Saint's
precious habit. Stairs lead down to the crypt and the Saint's tomb (he was
buried here on 25th May 1230). The Saint's followers were buried around his
tomb in 1932.
Upper Basilica
The upper Basilica, with a Latin cross plan, consists of a single nave, with
four spans and a pentagonal apse. The interior of the building, lit by large
stained glass windows set into the walls of the nave, has a wealth of
precious fresco cycles. Cimabue, in 1280, painted a fresco cycle in the apse
area and in the transept. Nowadays, these works resemble photographic
negatives as a result of chemical alterations which have taken place with
the passing of time. Cimabue's Crucifixion is one such example. The nave
contains frescoes by Giotto and other Roman and Tuscan masters telling the
story of the life of the Poverello d'Assisi, inspired by the biography of
Saint Francis written by St. Bonaventure
In the nave, beneath the Scenes of the New and Old
Testament painted by Giacomo Torriti, Pietro Cavallini and other Roman and
Tuscan artists, is the great fresco cycle of the life of Saint Francis by
Giotto. It consists of 28 episodes.
The cycle starts on the right-hand wall, just before the transept and also
covers the counterfacade and the whole of the left-hand wall. All the scenes
are characterised by the three-dimensional representation of space, in which
bodies and objects acquire an increased plastic impact. The young Giotto’s
skilful use of color and his effortless drawing give the frescoes a sense
of great realism, which would become a constant feature in all his later
works.
A radical renewal of painting as an art form began with this cycle.
Church of
San Damiano – (Assisi)
Franciscan sanctuary (1205 -1207), built where Saint Francis heard the voice
of Christ and dictated the famous "Canticle of the Creatures"
(composed later in 1225). Situated outside the ring of walls of the town of
Assisi, it is thought to be one of the most authentic places of
Franciscanism.
The small church was built in honour of the doctor Saint Damian between the
8th and 9th century. At the beginning of the 13th century the building was
in ruins and it was Francis himself who wished to restore it. It was in this
church that the painted Crucifix on a modelled panel spoke to the Saint
saying to him:" Francis, repair my house, which is falling into ruins"
(alluding to the crisis of the Church). The Sanctuary contains a fresco
depicting Francis praying before the Byzantine Crucifix. Subsequently,
Francis built a small convent next to the Sanctuary, which was to be the
home of St. Clare and St. Agnes and the other Poor Clares, who stayed there
until 1260 when the friars minor took over from them. The small porch leads
down, to the right, into the area of the old buildings annexed to the
church, nowadays the area of the Chapels. This is subdivided into: St.
Jerome, Crucifix and sacristy.
The Chapel of St. Jerome contains frescos executed by Tiberio d'Assisi
(1517):Virgin enthroned between Saints Francis, Clare, Bernardine and
Jerome. On the back wall, on the left, is "St. Sebastian and St. Roch".
The Chapel of the Crucifix is so called because it houses
a wooden Crucifix sculpted by Fra Innocenzo of Palermo in 1637. On one side
of the Crucifix are two windows decorated by G. Ubaldi with scenes evoking
the "Canticle of the Creatures". The church of S. Damiano has only
one nave. Next to the door, on the right and above, you can see the window
where Francis threw the money for the restoration of San Damiano. There are
also several fragments of 14th-century paintings. The apse area contains a
wooden choir of 1504. On the apse wall is a fresco of the Madonna and Child
between Saints Ruphinus and Damian in the Byzantine style. Inside the church
it is also worth noting a fresco by an anonymous painter depicting Mediaeval
Assisi seen from S. Damiano. On the altar of the relics, inside an alabaster
tabernacle, is the ivory box in which Saint Clare, by concession of the
Pope, kept the Holy Sacrament.
A flight of steps gives easy access to the internal oratory of S. Maria di
San Damiano (the "Porziuncola of St. Clare"), where the Saint lived when she
was ill. The oratory is decorated with late 14th-century frescos. Adjacent
to the oratory is a bare, unadorned room: the shared dormitory where Clare
died on the evening of 11th August 1253.
B
asilica di Santa Chiara - (Assisi)
The church replicates the form of the Upper Basilica of S. Francesco and was
built in honour of the Saint’s female disciple. This Gothic building was
begun in 1257, just three years after the death of St. Clare. The basilica
stands partly on the ancient church of S. Giorgio, which until 1230 housed
the body of St. Francis.
The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross, preserves beneath the high
altar the body of St. Clare, which was placed there in 1230. The polychrome
facade, consisting of strips of pink and white stone from Mount Subasio,
characterises the building. Above the altar, in the webs of the cross vault,
we find scenes of the Triumph of Christian virginity, executed by the
so-called "Master of St. Clare" between 1230 and '35.
In the left-hand arm of the transept there is a painting depicting a crib,
probably executed by an anonymous Umbrian artist, now identified as the
"Master of the nativity of St. Clare" (he lived in around the mid-14th
century). In the right-hand arm of the transept, behind the altar, is a
large panel by Benvenuto Benveni, depicting Saint Clare.
On the upper part of the high altar are four frescos by Stefani, who also
executed the magnificent compositions that can be seen beneath the windows
in the monastic choir. Opposite these frescos is a small panel thought to be
by Giottino and a small Triptych attributed to Cimabue or to his school.
The two panels of the Virgin Mary and St. Clare in the
Chapel of S. Michele are attributed to Margaritone, but have been a good
deal altered by inexpert retouching.
A staircase leads from the Basilica to the crypt (built towards the mid-19th
century), where the mortal remains of St. Clare are kept, which were
discovered on 23rd September 1850.
Adjacent to the basilica is the Chapel of the Sacrament, which occupies part
of the ancient church of S. Giorgio and inside which is preserved the
Crucifix originating from S. Damiano.
Basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli - (Assisi)
The patriarchal Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Porziuncola, a
sixteenth-century "temple" (c.1569-1679), was built to receive pilgrims from
all over the world. It contains within its walls the small church of the
Porziuncola, a place of evangelical life and of the first Franciscan
generation.
The Porziuncola represents the origin of Franciscanism and the source of
God’s mercy. In fact a special indulgence was obtained for this small
edifice, also known as the pardon of Assisi. In the center of this vast
Renaissance building stands the Porziuncola, repaired in 1207 by Saint
Francis. In this small building Franciscan humility is visible, in contrast
to the rich decorations of the Basilica around it. It was in the Porziuncola,
in 1211, that the clothing of St. Clare took place and thus the birth of the
second Franciscan Order, also known as the Poor Clares.
The apse area of the Basilica contains the Chapel of the
Transit, where Saint Francis, singing, welcomed death (3rd October 1226) and
referring to the Porziuncola said: "Head, mother and mirror of all the
churches in the order".
On the right of the Basilica are: the Rose garden (where the Saint, fighting
temptation, threw himself among the thorns) and the Chapel of the Roses.
This oratory was built above the hut where Saint Francis lived. It contains
numerous frescos by Tiberio d'Assisi executed in 1506-1516, depicting
stories relating to the pardon of Assisi. Inside the Basilica there is also
an interesting high-relief depicting The Porziuncola at the time of St.
Francis, executed by Fielder.
On the facade of the humble building of the Porziuncola is a large fresco
executed in 1829 by the painter Federico Overbeck, (of the Nazarene school),
representing St. Francis, at the feet of the Virgin with Christ, receiving
the indulgence. The Latin phrase above the portal indicates that this holy
place is worthy of veneration and symbolizes the “door of eternal life".
Inside the Porziuncola, on the vault and in the presbytery, are several
frescos dating back to the 14th and 15th century. The panel, of 1393,
represents the Annunciation and the use of luminous colors gives rise to a
vivid sensation of splendor.
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© 1997-2010 Enrico Massetti
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