Housing a Saint: the Basilica of St. Francis

St. Francis of Assisi was a significant spiritual figure in 1200s who advocated for a simple life following the ideals of poverty, abstinence, and giving away of worldly items for a deeper spiritual life.  His ideas greatly influenced religious life in the 1200s, and during his own lifetime people were already honoring him as a saint.  His significance is revealed by the church built in his honor in Assisi shortly after his death, the Basilica of St. Francis.

The Basilica of St. Francis was consecrated by Pope Innocent VI in 1253 and the beautiful frescoes depicting St. Francis's life were painted by Giotto, Cimabue, and others in 1200s and 1300s.  St. Francis's body was transferred to the church as soon as the first building was completed and hidden in the ground beneath the high altar.  This action prevented his bones from being stolen to be sold as relics; when his tomb was rediscovered in the 1800s, his skeleton was fully intact, which was rare for a popular medieval saint.

The Basilica has two main levels--the upper church and the lower church.  The lower church, badly lit and tomb-like, was built first and displays frescoes done by painters from the early Sienese school.  These frescoes show St. Francis' life in relation to the life of Christ.  The upper church is strikingly different than the lower church; The interior is decorated in the Italian Gothic style: full of light and color, with an airy atmosphere.  The exterior has a plain facade done in a Romanesque style, with a double portal under a pointed arch as the only Gothic touch.  Painted in the lower register of the nave is Giotto's Legend of Saint Francis, which illustrates St. Francis' life.  Giotto's frescoes include a lot of nature and convey deep emotion, a perfect choice to for St. Francis.

Source:
"Basilica Di San Francesco, Assisi." Sacred Destinations. Sacred Destinations, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2016. <http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/assisi-san-francesco>.