Assisi is the birthplace of St Francis and in it is the art which chronicals his life. Perugia, is the lively, refined capital of Umbria.

Giotto, Legend of St Francis, Sermon to the Birds (detail)

The Church of San Francesco is the head church of the Roman Catholic Franciscan Order in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, and is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill and comprises two churches known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church, and a crypt where the remains of Saint Francis are interred. The interior of the Upper Church is important as an early example of the Gothic style in Italy. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by numerous late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools, and include the series of 28 frescos by Giotto and works by Cimabue, Simone Martini, and Pietro Lorenzetti. Please note: entrance to the Church of St Francis requires modest dress – shoulders and knees should be covered.

K89033GIOTTO 3The Stigmates, Giotto

Madonna with Saint Francis, Cimabue

 

PERUGIA
Raphael: Cappella di San Severo – Piazza Raffaello 13, Perugia. 10.30-13.30, 14.30-18.30 Entrance € 2.50

Perugino: Collegio del Cambio – Corso Vannucci, 25. 9-12.30, 14.30-17.30 tel. 075 5728599. € 2.60. Perugino’s frescoed room. Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci by birth, he assisted Piero della Francesca at Arezzo and in the early 1470s was a fellow pupil of Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo di Credi in Verrocchio’s studio in Florence.

Fontana Maggiore – (1275) central fountain by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. Marble with bronze, height of the figures 77cm. The last work of Nicola Pisano, finished with the assistance of his son Giovanni. The fountain is decorated with various allegorical figures. Piazza del Comune, Perugia.

Perugino, Self-portrait, 1497–1500

National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia – Collection includes works by Arnolfo di Cambio, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Gentile da Fabriano, Beato Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero della Francesca, Agostino di Duccio, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Perugino, Pintoricchio, Orazio Gentileschi, Pietro da Cortona, Sebastiano Conca.
Palazzo dei Priori, Corso Vannucci, 19. Tel: 075 58668410. Open 8:30-19:30 Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Mondays. 6.50 euros.

3anton01Piero della Francesca – Polyptych of St Anthony