EVENTS AD ASSISI

The Feast of St. Francis - 4 October

The centre of the celebrations for St. Francis, the patron saint of Italy, is the basilica that dominates over the hill where Assisi rises up. The celebrations are held over many days and involve the entire city, through religious and civil initiatives, awards, conventions and re-enactments. The climax is the solemn ceremony of the Transit – in the lower Basilica – that commemorates St. Francis’ passage from life to death. Every inhabitant of Assisi keeps an olive branch in their home that, at the end of the festivities, is distributed in the churchyard.

On the 4th of October in Assisi there is the remembrance of a person that fascinates laymen, believers and atheists alike. His sensitivity towards nature, mystical spirit, courage to abandon wealth and strength to reach out to Islam made St. Francis one of the most complex figures in Christianity. The initiator of Italian literature with his Canticle of the Creatures, remembered by Dante in one of his most beautiful cantos of Paradise, for many historians he is believed to be responsible for saving Catholicism, tainted by corruption and wealth, and strengthening the relationship between the Church and the poorer classes. The basilica where the body of Italy’s patron saint is buried tells the story of these riches.

It was built upon the indication of St. Francis himself, over the cemetery where criminals and outcasts were buried, in a sort of image of Calvary where Christ was crucified. Commissioned to be built in monumental proportions by the papacy to host pilgrims and celebrate the greatness of the church, it was constructed by Friar Elia, vicar of the order and advisor of Frederick II, the Swabian emperor at odds with the papacy. Built by master craftsmen from all over Europe, it is one of the pillars of the Old Continent’s artistic heritage, with frescoes and works by Giotto, Cimabue and Simone Martini.

Each year, on the 4th of October, in honour of Italy’s patron saint, a different religion is invited to offer the oil that will burn in the crypt where the body of the St. Francis rests.