The Basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli was built between 1569 and 1679; its structure incorporates the buildings of the Franciscan convent erected next to the Porziuncola. Pope Pius V, at the conclusion of the Council of Trent, ordered the construction of the basilica both to acknowledge the importance of the Minorite Franciscan order and to accommodate the pilgrims who still flock there during the Indulgence of the Pardon (July 31 – August 2) established by St. Francis himself. The church, completed in 1679 with the construction of the bell tower on the right side, has three naves and was designed by Galeazzo Alessi; Giacomo Martelli, Giacomo Giorgetti, and possibly even Vignola participated in its execution. Due to damage caused by the earthquake of 1832, the basilica was partially rebuilt by Luigi Poletti (1836-40) in the same style. The facade was raised between 1925 and 1930. In 1930, the statue of the “Madonna degli Angeli,” created by sculptor Colasanti, was placed at the top of the facade, while the current layout of the square in front is thanks to architect Nicolosi’s 1950 project. The interior has three naves and features side chapels whose wall decorations represent the most cohesive collection of Umbrian painting from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Of notable artistic but especially religious interest related to the life of the Saint are the Chapel of the Porziuncola and the Chapel of the Transitus. The Chapel of the Porziuncola, dating back to the 10th-11th centuries, is dedicated to St. Mary of the Angels or St. Mary of the Porziuncola. Around 1025, St. Francis made it his dwelling by restoring it and founding the Franciscan Order there (1208). The upper part of the facade is decorated by a fresco by Friedrich Overbeck from Lübeck (1829) depicting “St. Francis pleading with Jesus and Mary to grant the Indulgence of the Pardon.” On the right side, fragments of frescoes influenced by the Sienese style dating back to the 15th century are visible. At the altar, a large altarpiece by Ilario da Viterbo shows “the Annunciation and Stories of the Pardon.” The Chapel of the Transitus: is the infirmary cell where St. Francis died on October 3, 1226. Outside, there are frescoes by Domenico Bruschi (1886), Death and funerals of the Franciscan Saint. Inside are frescoes by Lo Spagna. Within the chapel is the niche containing the statue of St. Francis in glazed terracotta by Andrea della Robbia. From the sacristy, you enter the corridor that leads to the Rose Garden linked to a legend about St. Francis’s life, a small garden planted exclusively with thornless rose bushes. Adjacent to the Rose Garden is the Rose Garden Chapel (1518) consisting of three rooms decorated with frescoes by Tiberio d’Assisi, who also painted the wall frescoes of the Oratory of St. Bonaventure (1506). Along the exit path, on the left, is the 15th-century cloister and what remains of the small convent from the time of St. Bernardino of Siena (15th century).
Information about Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
Piazza della Porziuncola, Santa Maria degli Angeli,
06081 Assisi (Perugia)
075 8051430
basilicaporziuncola@assisiofm.org
Source: MIBACT
