Assisi Self-Guided Audio Tour: Giotto to Saint Francis

Assisi is a small hilltop town famous throughout Italy as the birthplace of Saint Francis, one of the main figures in the Catholic Church. This place is full of wonderful works of art created over the centuries by the most important Italian artists such as Giotto, Cimabue and Simone Martini. My name is Matteo, and this route came together with help from Arianna, a friend who grew up in Umbria and knows this city the way only someone with family roots here can. Between her local knowledge and my own time walking these streets, we built something that works for first-time visitors and for anyone who has been to Assisi before and felt like something was missing. This self-guided walking tour starts at the Basilica of Santa Chiara, moving through the historic center before finishing at the Basilica of Saint Francis. Along the way the audio explains what you are actually looking at: why the pink stone of Mount Subasio appears in almost every building, what the tension between the two halves of the city has meant for centuries, and what Saint Francis's idea of radical poverty actually changed in practical terms. Key stops along the route: • Basilica of Santa Chiara: 13th-century Gothic church housing the Crucifix of San Damiano. • Temple of Minerva: one of the best-preserved Roman temple facades in Italy, now a church. • Rocca Maggiore: the hilltop fortress above the city, rebuilt in the 14th century. • Roman Forum: the ancient civic center of Asisium, still visible underground beneath the piazza. • Basilica of Saint Francis: completed in 1235 and containing Giotto's fresco. The tour is entirely self-paced. You can pause it mid-stop, take a detour, sit for a coffee or go back to rehear something without losing your place. Important ticket tips: Whether you go inside any of the attractions along this route is entirely up to you. The Basilica of Santa Chiara, the Temple of Minerva and the Basilica of Saint Francis are all free to enter and require no advance booking. The Rocca Maggiore, the Roman Forum and the Pinacoteca require tickets but no reservation. A combined ticket is available covering the Rocca Maggiore, the Roman Forum and the Pinacoteca together.