Rome Trip Overview
Pilgrims have been coming to Assisi, Italy since the 13th century to venerate St. Francis, who was born and buried here, but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the beauty of this postcard-perfect town. Framed by the long, undulating hills of Umbria and the forests of Monte Subasio, Assisi is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the world and one of Italy’s most spell-binding gems. Not everybody knows that Saint Rita of Cascia is often called “the saint of the impossible”. St. Rita’s story is one of the power of prayer and of faith. She was blessed with the Stigmata of Our Lord on her forehead. Although this stigmata gave off a highly offensive odor she bore it with humility and upon her death in 1457 the fragrance of flowers emanated from her body.
Additional Info
Duration: 10 to 11 hours
Starts: Rome, Italy
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
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What to Expect When Visiting Rome, Lazio, Italy
Pilgrims have been coming to Assisi, Italy since the 13th century to venerate St. Francis, who was born and buried here, but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the beauty of this postcard-perfect town. Framed by the long, undulating hills of Umbria and the forests of Monte Subasio, Assisi is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the world and one of Italy’s most spell-binding gems. Not everybody knows that Saint Rita of Cascia is often called “the saint of the impossible”. St. Rita’s story is one of the power of prayer and of faith. She was blessed with the Stigmata of Our Lord on her forehead. Although this stigmata gave off a highly offensive odor she bore it with humility and upon her death in 1457 the fragrance of flowers emanated from her body.
Stop At: Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, Piazza Inferiore San Francesco 2, 06081, Assisi Italy
Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the basilica of St. Francis was built under the direction of Brother Elias, vicar general and architect of the order, starting in 1228, just two years after the saint’s death, as a place designed to receive his remains.Pope Gregory IX laid the first stone was on July 17, 1228, the day after the canonization of St. Francis, in the place previously used for executions and burials of criminals. According to tradition, Francis himself, on his deathbed, indicated this spot to his companions as the place for his burial.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Basilica di Santa Chiara, Piazza Santa Chiara, 06081, Assisi Italy
The Basilica of St. Clare of Assisi, realized with the typical pink stone extracted from the quarry of the Subasio mountain, contains precious frescos dating back to the period from the XIIth to the XIVth century.
In the chapel on the right, along the unique nave of St. Clare of Assisi, finishing in transept and polygonal apse, you can admire the Crucifix which, according to tradition, would have invited St. Francesco in the church of St. Damiano in order to “reset up the Church”.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli – Porziuncola, Piazza della Porziuncola 1, 06081, Assisi Italy
Built on a grandiose scale, the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli is the seventh largest Christian church. Its magnificence may be at odds with the simplicity preached by St Francis himself but the flocks of pilgrims coming to visit the primitive Porziuncola chapel and the Cappella del Transito called for a building that was able to accomodate the faithful. The Porziuncola chapel was given to St Francis by the Benedictines, and is important because it was the initial nucleus from which the Franciscan order was born. The Cappella del Transito is the place where the saint died on October 4th 1226.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Basilica di Santa Rita, Monastero Santa Rita, 06043, Cascia Italy
The Saint born in 1381 in the near Roccaporena and baptized with the name of “Margherita”, on desire of the father got married renouncing, in a first time, to enter in an Augustinian convent according to what were really her most intimate aspirations. After 18 years of a difficult and violent wedding, her exemplary conduct led the husband to convert himself. In a period of communal battles the husband was killed by the family of the Casciani; “Margherita”, in order to avoid bloody and never ending vendetta, forgave her proper compatriots and was welcomed in the Monastery of the Augustinian Sisters of Santa Maria Maddalena. In 1442, during the night of Holy Friday, she received the stigmata from a thornbush of the crown of the Crucifix , that according to the tradition, embedded itself in her forehead.
Duration: 1 hour
