It’s official. Assisi is the most beautiful town I have visited in Italy so far. I love the color of the stone, the character of the homes, the diversity of the spaces. I don’t think I have ever been filled with so much joy just from seeing one little town.
Chiesa di San Francesco was unlike any church we have seen so far. The piazza in front framed the church beautifully, allowing for a procession past a series of arches that set the church apart from the rest of the town like a gem set atop a crown. The church itself was set at an angle from the piazza and incorporated a collection of overlapping spaces and structures that caused the viewer to wonder exactly how it all fit together. It is a Gothic church, but its stone construction and relatively flat facades were reminiscent of the Romanesque era.
The interior of the lower church was also unlike any church I have seen. Though it is Gothic, it has surprisingly low ceilings that, instead of making it appear dreary and unwelcoming, brought it to life with color that floated close to the viewers’ heads. The frescoes were magnificent, telling stories of the life of Christ and St. Francis with vibrant colors. The procession through the lower church was like a procession through life on earth in which the end, at the altar, was death. But there, also, was the rising to the upper level, a resurrection, and the beginning of life after death. Here, on the upper level, the ceilings were magnificently tall and painted like the heavens. The windows emphasized light and the divine. The frescoes telling the stories of St. Francis’s life serve as inspiration to the viewers, depicting the life of a man who gave up all material things for God. The church is an incredible collection of spaces that symbolize the life God wants for us.
I found it very interesting that the church was so magnificently and richly designed while St. Francis was such a simple man. I wonder if he looks down on us now from heaven shaking his head and saying, “What were they thinking…” But at the same time, when looked at as a church of God, it can be viewed as giving up money and material things as an offering to God rather than a collection for our own selfish desires.
When we left the church and began to explore the rest of the town, I began to understand St. Francis’s love for nature. The piazza in front of the upper church provides magnificent views of both the valley below and the mountains above. The down dwells peacefully in harmony with the surrounding landscape, and the design of the streets, walls, and windows frame beautiful views, never allowing a visitor to forget God’s creation or even pass by without a glance. It is a beautiful town.
