Dopo the death in 1226 and following the canonization of St. Francis, Pope Gregory IX laid the first stone on the land that was to see the construction of the “specialis ecclesia”. The Basilica consecrated in 1253 by Innocent IV is constituted by the superposition of two churches, lower and upper, which correspond to two different construction phases, in which elements of Umbrian Romanesque align with the Gothic language of French origin. It was started in July 1228 and completed in 1230, when the body of the Saint was translated there. The project highlights the dual function: the lower church intended to become a crypt and the upper one for preaching. The decorative apparatus of the two churches represents the most important pictorial complex of the art of the 13th and 14th centuries; indeed, among the most eminent artists of the 13th and 14th-century Italy worked there, starting with Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, Jacopo Torriti, and others. The facade of the upper church is characterized by simple lines and crowned by a triangular pediment according to the local Gothic taste. The twin portal and the rose window with Cosmatesque forms are at the center of the middle register, framed by symbols of the Evangelists in relief. On the left side, the Loggia of the Blessings was built in 1607. Lower church: accessed through a portal from the second half of the 13th century; the interior has a plan in the shape of an Egyptian cross with a semicircular apse and a short barrel-vaulted transept. The simple nave is composed of four bays with lowered ribbed vaults. On the sides of each bay, pointed arches open into side chapels that open on both long sides and at the ends of the transept. Frescoes by the Master of St. Francis: executed around 1253 and of notable iconographic interest, attributed to the painter called the Master of St. Francis, of Umbrian origin influenced by the personality of Giunta Pisano. Right side chapels: I chapel of St. Louis or St. Stephen with frescoes by Doni and Giorgetti with a quadrifora (four-light window) by Giovanni di Bonino and collaborator. In the passage to the adjoining chapel of St. Lawrence, frescoes from the second half of the 14th century. II chapel of St. Anthony of Padua with frescoes by Sermei with quadrifora by Giottesque masters and Giovanni di Bonino. III chapel of Mary Magdalene, frescoes executed by Giotto and his collaborators. In the presbytery, the high altar is the work of Roman marble workers. In the four vault sections, frescoes depicting the Allegories of the Franciscan Virtues and the Glory of St. Francis datable to the first twenty years of the 14th century. The right arm of the crossing is covered by two bands of fresco decoration by Giotto’s collaborators under the master’s direction; in the first band from the right, work by Cimabue, Madonna with Child on a throne, four angels, and St. Francis and other frescoes; in the second band from the right, Crucifixion by Giotto and other frescoes. Chapel of St. Nicholas with frescoes by disciples of Giotto. The left arm of the crossing is entirely decorated by frescoes made between 1315 and 1320 by Pietro Lorenzetti and assistants. Chapel of St. John the Baptist with a fresco by Pietro Lorenzetti depicting the Madonna with Child and Saints Francis and John the Baptist and a bifora presenting characteristics of Cimabue and Romans. Above the tribune at the back of the niche, frescoes attributed to Puccio Capanna. The chapel of St. Martin is entirely frescoed by Simone Martini, between 1312 and 1320. In the archivolt of the entrance arch holy men and women are depicted, and in the rest of the chapel Stories of St. Martin. Upper church: a nave with four bays, transept, and polygonal apse, entirely covered by ribbed vaults of ogival shape supported by ribs ending in bundle pilasters. The brightness of the environment is given both by the presence of large biforas in the nave and apse and by the presence of quadriforas. The architectural solutions adopted are drawn from Gothic beyond the Alps, which finds in the church a faithful application, while maintaining characteristics of the Italian tradition. The transept and apse are entirely decorated by a vast cycle of frescoes made by Cimabue starting from 1277. In the left arm of the crossing, Crucifixion is followed by five apocalyptic scenes. The frescoes in the apse depict Stories of Mary. The right arm of the crossing shows the Acts of the life of St. Peter by several masters linked to Cimabue. Cimabue is also attributed with frescoes of the crossing depicting the Four Evangelists. At the height of the third bay, in the vault of the bay frescoes by Jacopo Torriti; at the height of the first bay, the four Doctors of the Church, attributable to several masters including the Master of Isaac and the Master of the Capture. On the nave walls, above the gallery and at the sides of the windows, Stories from the Old and New Testament attributed to Jacopo Torriti, the Master of Pentecost, the Master of the Capture, and the Master of Isaac. In the lowest register of the nave, in three scenes each divided by false twisted columns unified by a false shelf and the coffered ceiling, there are the twenty-eight Stories of St. Francis by Giotto and other authors such as the Master of Isaac, the Master of the Capture, the Master of the Crucifix of Montefalco, and the Master of Saint Cecilia. The cycle is inspired by the Life (Legenda maior) of Bonaventure of Bagnoregio.
Information about Basilica of San Francesco
Piazza San Francesco,
06081 Assisi (Perugia)
075819001
[email protected]
https://www.sanfrancescoassisi.org
Source: MIBACT
