Skip to main content

Secondary sourceArtifactbegun 1228

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

begun 1228

The great church begun in 1228 to house the remains of Francis of Assisi, whose grandeur was itself controversial given his vow of poverty.

Built to house Francis's remains, the basilica shows the tension between his ideal of poverty and the grandeur built in his memory.

Ask Saint Francis about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Aerial view of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi on a hilltop, with its pink-toned stone walls, a tall bell tower, and a large sloping retaining wall. A parking area and winding road are below, with green valley and hills in the distance under a cloudy sky.
Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, begun 1228, Assisi, Italy.

About this source

What it is

Construction of this basilica, in Assisi, began in 1228 by order of Pope Gregory IX, shortly after Francis of Assisi's canonization, to hold his remains. It consists of an Upper and Lower Church decorated with frescoes by major medieval artists, and its crypt holds Francis's body.

Why it matters

The basilica reveals a tension at the heart of Francis's legacy: he preached absolute poverty, yet the church built to honor him became one of the grandest buildings in Italy. Its construction, overseen by his former follower Brother Elias, shows how the Franciscan order debated what Francis's memory should look like after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might building such a grand church for Francis seem to go against his own teachings?
  • Who decided to build the basilica, and what might their reasons have been?
  • What does the basilica tell us about how institutions shape the memory of the people they honor?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Francis on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Saint Francis sources

Meet the AI Saint Francis →
Manuscript page in Latin with black gothic script and red initial letter M and red-highlighted lines, with handwritten marginal notes on the right. The text includes 'Altissimu onnipotente bon signore' and 'Laudes creaturarum', consistent with the Canticle of the Sun.Book

Primary source

Canticle of the Sun

Francis of Assisi · 1226

Photograph of a small, aged parchment sheet sealed in a metal-framed case. It has faded brown ink text in Latin with red headings, a large hand-drawn red and brown Tau cross with a figure-like sketch, and a few lines of writing at the bottom.Document

Primary source

Chartula fratri Leonis

Francis of Assisi · 1224

Book

Secondary source

First Life of Saint Francis

Thomas of Celano · 1230

Gold-background panel painting in a gabled wooden frame. A standing robed friar with a halo holds a book and raises one hand, flanked by two angels above. Smaller framed scenes in the side panels show his life events in colorful architecture.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Francis of Assisi and Scenes of His Life

Bonaventura Berlinghieri · 1235

Painted wooden crucifix on a cross-shaped panel with a red and gold border. Christ with open arms, eyes open, wearing a white loincloth, with small figures of saints and angels around him and a Latin inscription above his head.Painting

Primary source

San Damiano Cross

c. 1100

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Saint Francis now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions