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ASSISI
Assisi, (from the Latin word Asisium), was founded about 1000 years before Christ when the Umbrians came down from central-eastern Europe and occupied the Tiber Valley, spreading out all the way to the Adriatic shores. The Umbrians, who according to Pliny the Elder were the most ancient Italic population, dominated the region for more than five hundred years until they were absorbed by the Etruscans.
The Romans, with the battle of Sentium in the year 295 B.C., took control of the area, marking the beginning of an era of great prosperity for Assisi.
The city was made into a municipality and various constructions were built – many of which are still visible today – including defence walls, a forum, an amphitheatre and the great Temple of Minerva. In 50 B.C. the great Latin poet named Sextus Propertius was born there.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the year 545, the city was plundered by the Goths. Twenty years later it was annexed to the Duchy of Spoleto and consequently subjected to the rule of the Lombards.It flourished once again around the year 1000 thanks to the episcopate and the Benedictine movements.
Its strategic position made it an eagerly sought-after prey. Frederick Barbarossa conquered the city and his son, Frederick II, was baptized there in the cathedral of San Rufino.
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The birth of Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone in 1182 put this small city into the history books of humanity. The construction of the basilica and the frescoes by Giotto make it one of the most important European cities of art. In 1198, Assisi managed to rebel against the imperial rule and thanks to the charisma of St. Clare it held back the Saracen and later the Tartar troops to become a free communes.
In the years that followed control over the city of Assisi alternated between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Violently contested battles between noble families devastated the city. Various sieges were launched by the Perugians, the Papal troops, Visconti da Montefeltro, Braccio Fortebraccio and the Sforza family. Only with the conquest of the city by Pope Paul III would peace be restored to Assisi. On top of the hill, the great Albornoz fortress was built around the Medieval village.
With the rediscovery of the bodies of St. Francis and St. Claire, Assisi became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the world. Its immense artistic heritage spared it from the bombings of World War II. The city was awarded the gold medal of civil valour for having saved, during the conflict, political dissidents, Jews, refugees and evacuees. It was named a world heritage site by Unesco. In 1987, upon an initiative by John Paul II, the main representatives of religions throughout the world joined together, for the first and only time in the history of mankind, for a day of prayer in the name of peace.
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