Sighseeing
Uniquely built on a hill, this medieval city is mainly famous for being a birth place of Saint Francis, who is closely associated with the work of the widely popular Franciscan order. The town is a real treasure of medieval art masterpieces (such as the basilica of San Francesco and its paintings made by the famous painters: Cimabue; P. Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto) that have turned it into a fundamental reference point for development of not only the Italian architecture but the European one, at all.
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
On the Town Square that is spread on the ancient forum, is situated the beautiful Priors' Palace (1337). In fact it is not anything else, but the Palace of People's Capitan (12th century), and the temple of Minerva - dating back to the Augustinian period, with all of the architectural specifics for that time. It has managed to stay preserved almost intact, since today - with its six fluted columns supporting Corinthian capitals and standing on plinths, which rest on the steps leading to the pronaos, for lack of space... When a female statue was unearthed here it was thought the temple had been dedicated to Minerva, although the subsequent discovery of a votive plaque to Hercules makes it more likely the place had been dedicated to him... In 1539 the inner sanctum of the temple was transformed into the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, with additional alterations added in the Baroque style during the 17th century. Being built between 1212 and 1305 this was the first public building, been ever erected in Piazza del Comune.
The Cathedral
The Cathedral dedicated to the Patron Saint St. Rufino, vaunts a splendid façade with sculptures and relieves. The interior however has undergone much reconstruction during the centuries and has been in a way distorted from the original project, dating back to the 13th century.
The Rocca Maggiore
The earliest records of this building date back to 1174, when it was erected as a German feudal castle. The future emperor Frederick the Second of Swabia spent several years of his childhood here and was baptized in Assisi at the age of 3 in 1197. It is known that the following year, in Conrad's absence the people of Assisi rebelled and destroyed the castle. So it remained a ruin until 1367 when Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt the fortress using the western section of outside walls as well as the part of the internal fortifications...
