Though Venice, Rome, and Florence are incredible cities to visit, visiting hill towns such as Siena and now Assissi are more appealing.

These medieval walled cities in Tuscany and Umbria provide just the right setting to imagine yourself in a period long gone. In Assissi there are no McDonald’s, no mega-malls, no high tech manufacturing. The roads are narrow, often not wide enough for a car – (that’s a good thing except when you want to get your luggage to your hotel).

A medieval city unchanged for centuries, Assisi rests peacefully protected by massive city walls and a pervasive serenity of spirit. Beautiful medieval architecture is preserved in the rosy-colored stone houses, which line the city's roadways and intertwining streets. Assisi has given the world many great figures, most notably Saint Francis, a monk who founded the Franciscan order and sparked a revolution in the Catholic Church during the 12th century.

One of Assisi's most important sights is the ‘Basilica di San Francesco’, which contains a luxuriant church, a crypt containing St. Francis' Tomb, and walls full of religious water-colored murals upon plastered walls by famous artists.

Although the city is admired and adored by a variety of reverent visitors (and those of a higher religiosity), it is also serenely appealing to the rest of us as well.

History

’Originally inhabited by the Umbri tribe, an early population that settled in middle Italy, Assisi subsequently came under the influence of both the Etruscans and the Romans. Under Roman imperial rule, the city was known as the municipium Assisium. When the Roman Empire fell, the city was settled by the Goths around 545 A.D., and then later by the Lombards. At the beginning of the 11th century, Assisi became an independent commune, and the extensive spread of the monastic movement began. Around the year 1180 A.D., Saint Francis was born, and was raised as a young noble in a rich merchant family. After publicly renouncing his father's wealth, Francis dedicated his life to prayer and the poor, establishing a new religious order and gaining many disciples over his remaining years. Francis died on October 3rd, 1226, and was canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. At that time, the city had fallen under papal rule. However, until the middle of the 16th century, a succession of local lords took turns holding power over the city. Ultimately, papal rule was restored to Assisi, and was to remain undisputed until the 19th century, when the city joined the newly created Italian state along with other Umbrian cities. ‘