BASILICA OF SAN FRANCESCO, History

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Basilica of San Francesco.

Work on this magnificent basilica began in 1228, just two years after the death of Saint Francis, as a suitable tribute to the saint who had changed the way the Christian message was followed. The concept and the design were probably by Elia, one of Francis’s most faithful disciples. The church was to be the most modern in Italy at the time, and was consecrated in 1253.

What you’re looking at now is the facade, with a simple, double-pitched roof, a portal with a Gothic-style pointed arch, a large rose window half-way up and a smaller rose window above it, to allow air to circulate under the roof.

What you might not yet have noticed is the most incredible feature of all: the basilica is composed of two churches, one on top of the other, known as the Upper Church and Lower Church, built as a fitting last resting place for the saint and to tell his story to the endless masses of pilgrims who would be coming from all over the world....