Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone was born into a family of cloth merchants, dreamed of becoming a knight and ended up handing even his clothes back to his father in front of the bishop of Assisi. He lived among lepers, gathered brothers who owned nothing and never wished to become a priest, yet the whole Church ended up looking to him. Twelve stops between the tomb hidden for almost six centuries, the frescoes that tell his life, the Roman temple that captivated Goethe, the family home, the fortress that watched young Francesco ride off to war, the church where he gave up everything, the cathedral of his baptism, the hermitage in the woods of Mount Subasio, Clare's basilica, the crucifix of San Damiano and the tiny chapel where he died lying on the bare earth. Approximate audio duration: 23 minutes.
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Asís: el hijo del comerciante rico que se desnudó ante el obispo y cambió la Iglesia
Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone nació en una familia de comerciantes de telas, soñó con ser caballero y terminó devolviéndole hasta la ropa a su padre frente al obispo de Asís. Vivió con leprosos, reunió hermanos que no poseían nada y nunca quiso ser sacerdote, pero la Iglesia entera terminó mirándolo. Doce paradas entre la tumba escondida durante casi seis siglos, los frescos que narran su vida, el templo romano que fascinó a Goethe, la casa paterna, la fortaleza que vio partir a la guerra al joven Francesco, la iglesia donde se despojó de todo, la catedral de su bautismo, la ermita en el bosque del Subasio, la basílica de Clara, el crucifijo de San Damiano y la pequeña capilla donde murió acostado sobre la tierra. Duración aproximada de audio: 23 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~23 min of audio · 14.31 km on foot (~3 h 35 min walking) · about 4 h in total
You are standing in the lower piazza of Saint Francis, framed by arcades. In front of you is the entrance to the lower basilica. Above it stands another complete church. And to your left, the Sacro Convento rests on huge arches stepping down towards the valley.
All of this was built for a man who asked to own nothing. Francesco was born in Assisi around 1181 or 1182. He died in 1226, aged about forty-four, poor by choice.
In 1228, only two years later, Pope Gregory IX declared him a saint. The very next day he laid the first stone of this basilica. It was one of the swiftest canonisations of…
2
The Tomb Hidden for Six Centuries
You are in the half-light of the lower basilica. Down in the crypt, behind a grille, is a block of rough stone. Inside it lies the body of Francesco.
His body was brought here on 25 May 1230. Brother Elias had it buried in secret, in the rock, beneath the high altar. A saint's relics were a treasure at the time, and it was feared that some rival city might try to steal them.
The secret worked too well. For almost six centuries no one knew exactly where he lay. Only in 1818, after weeks of night-time digging, did the friars find the stone sarcophagus.
Around him rest four of his first compan…
3
Francesco's Life in Twenty-Eight Scenes
You are in front of the upper basilica, with its pale stone facade and great rose window. Inside, the light changes completely: it is a tall, bright Gothic church, built for looking.
Along the nave run twenty-eight frescoes telling the life of Francesco. They were painted at the end of the thirteenth century and are traditionally attributed to Giotto, though scholars still debate how much is his and how much his workshop's.
Look for the key scenes. Francesco giving his cloak to a poor knight. Francesco preaching to the birds. Francesco in Greccio, in 1223, setting up a manger with a living o…
4
The Square of the King of Revels
You are in Piazza del Comune, the civic heart of Assisi. Look at the six Corinthian columns of the facade. It is a Roman temple from the first century BC, preserved almost intact.
It is called the Temple of Minerva, although an inscription found on the site suggests it was dedicated to Hercules. Since 1539 it has been a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
In 1786 Goethe came through here. In his Italian Journey he tells how he barely glanced at the great basilica of Saint Francis, which he found oppressive. He came straight to this temple and described it with delight as the first complete an…
5
The Cloth Merchant's House
You are in front of the Chiesa Nuova, the new church. It was built in 1615, paid for by King Philip III of Spain, over the spot that tradition identifies as the home of Francesco's family.
His father was Pietro di Bernardone. He was a prosperous cloth merchant who travelled to the fairs of France to buy fine fabrics. His mother was called Pica.
When the boy was born, his father was away on a journey. His mother had him baptised Giovanni. On his return, Pietro began calling him Francesco, the little Frenchman. The nickname stuck for life.
Francesco worked in his father's business. He learned…
6
The Young Man Who Wanted to Be a Knight
You are at the foot of the Rocca Maggiore, the fortress crowning Assisi. Look down into the valley: you can see the great dome of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the end of this tour. And on the horizon, to the west, lies Perugia.
In 1198, when Francesco was about sixteen, the people of Assisi stormed and destroyed the fortress that stood here, held by a German lord in the emperor's service. The castle you see is later: Cardinal Albornoz rebuilt it in 1367, and other popes enlarged it afterwards.
That revolt opened an era of wars. In 1202 Assisi fought Perugia at the battle of Collestrada. Frances…
7
Naked Before the Bishop
You are in Piazza del Vescovado, in front of Santa Maria Maggiore, the old cathedral of Assisi. Next to it is the bishop's palace. This is where the most famous scene in Francesco's life took place.
First, what came before. According to his biographers, in a ruined church outside the walls, San Damiano, Francesco heard a crucifix ask him to repair its house. He took it literally. He loaded up cloth from his father's shop, sold it in Foligno along with his horse, and offered the money to the priest of San Damiano.
Pietro di Bernardone exploded. He locked him up, hunted him down, and denounced…
8
The Font Where Francesco and Clare Were Baptised
You are in Piazza San Rufino, in front of Assisi's cathedral. Look at the Romanesque facade, with its three rose windows and its stone animals. It was begun in 1140, over the tomb of Rufino, the town's first bishop and patron saint.
Go inside and look for the baptismal font, on the right of the entrance. According to tradition, both Francesco and Clare were baptised in it. It once stood in Santa Maria Maggiore and was brought here when this church became the cathedral.
Clare was born around 1193 into a noble family, the Offreducci, whose house stood on this very square. She was about twelve …
9
The Hermitage in the Woods of Subasio
You are at the Eremo delle Carceri, about eight hundred metres up, in a wooded gorge on Mount Subasio. Listen to the silence: nothing but holm oaks, stone and wind.
Carceri does not mean prisons in the criminal sense. It was the word for secluded places where someone shut themselves away to pray. Francesco and his first companions climbed up here and spread out among the natural caves in the hillside.
Go into the small friary and down to Francesco's grotto. Notice the rock he used as a bed. The buildings around it came later: the friary was built in the early fifteenth century by Bernardino …
10
Clare and the Crucifix That Spoke
You are in front of the basilica of Santa Chiara. Notice the facade in white and pink stripes: it is stone from Mount Subasio, which you have just visited. To one side, the massive flying buttresses hold up the nave like arms of stone.
It was built between 1257 and 1265 to house the body of Clare, who had died in 1253. Before that, this was the site of the small church of San Giorgio. That is where Francesco learned to read as a boy.
It is also where he was buried in 1226, temporarily, until his basilica was ready. And it was in San Giorgio that Gregory IX declared him a saint, on 16 July 12…
11
Repairing a Church, Writing a Canticle
You are in front of San Damiano, a small, low church among olive trees below the town walls. Around 1205 it was half in ruins. This is where it all began.
According to his biographers, Francesco went in to pray before the crucifix you just saw in Santa Chiara and heard a voice: Francesco, go and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.
He thought it meant this building. He begged for stones around town, carried them with his own hands and rebuilt the walls. Only later was it understood that the house to be repaired was the whole Church.
In 1212 Francesco settled Clare and her…
12
The Little Chapel Inside the Basilica
You are at Santa Maria degli Angeli, a huge basilica on the plain, built between 1569 and 1679. Go inside. In the centre, beneath the dome, you will see something you do not expect: a tiny stone chapel with a painted facade.
This is the Porziuncola, the little portion. When Francesco found it, it was an abandoned chapel in the middle of a wood. He repaired it with his own hands, as he had San Damiano, and made it the heart of his community.
The first brothers lived here, in huts around it. Here Clare received the habit in 1212. And here the friars gathered for their general chapters, sometim…
How long does the "Assisi: the Rich Merchant's Son Who Stripped Before the Bishop and Changed the Church" audio tour take?
It has about 23 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 14.31 km walking route (~3 h 35 min on foot). Plan roughly 4 h in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Basilica of a Man Who Wanted Nothing" (coordinates 43.07445, 12.6061). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Assisi and pick "Assisi: the Rich Merchant's Son Who Stripped Before the Bishop and Changed the Church". No account required to start.
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