The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Assisi Travel Guide Resources & Trip Planning Info by Rick Steves

"Crowned by a ruined castle, the town spills downhill to the famous Basilica of St. Francis, named after its hometown boy who made very, very good. Francis' legacy is the town's basic industry: mementos of his life are everywhere — the place where he was baptized, a shirt he once wore, a hill he prayed on, and the church where a vision changed his life. Though the beautifully preserved Umbrian town bursts with flash-in-the-pan Francis fans in summer, just a block or two off the main drag you can find pockets of serenity that make it easy to imagine the peace Francis must have felt." - RICKSTEVES