Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Porziuncola

What it is

Santa Maria degli Angeli is the great basilica of the plain, at the foot of Assisi, next to the railway station. From outside it is an enormous 16th and 17th-century church; inside, under the dome, it holds a tiny chapel: the Porziuncola, the little church where Francis heard the Gospel, chose poverty and lived with his first companions. The Franciscan order was born here, and here Francis died in 1226. To understand Assisi, this is the beginning.

The basilica was built on the orders of Pope St Pius V in 1569 to protect the Franciscan sites and welcome pilgrims. It was designed by Galeazzo Alessi and the works lasted until 1679. The earthquake of 1832 badly damaged it; Luigi Poletti restored it and it returned to worship on 8 September 1840. The present façade, by Cesare Bazzani, dates from 1930, with the statue of the Virgin in gilded bronze at the top, which can be seen from all over the valley.

What to see inside

• The Porziuncola. The little stone chapel in the centre of the nave, with its painted façade. You enter in silence and in single file; only a few people fit inside.
• The Cappella del Transito. The place where Francis died, next to the presbytery.
• The Roseto. The thornless rose garden, linked by tradition to an episode in the life of the saint.
• The crypt, under the high altar, where in 1966 remains of ancient structures appeared, probably from the friars' first settlement.
• The presbytery, with a 17th-century wooden choir, a Baroque pulpit and the yellow Siena marble altar.
• The side chapels, ten of them, five on each side.

Allow 45 minutes for the basilica; an hour and a half if you add the museum.

Opening hours

• Basilica: every day from 7:30 to 12:30 and from 14:30 to 19:00. For Mass you can enter from 6:30. Until 10 January, Saturdays and Sundays have continuous hours.
• Masses: on weekdays at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 11:00 and 18:00. On public holidays, at 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 (solemn), 17:00 and 18:00, with a Mass in English at 11:00.
• Night prayer: Monday to Friday, from 21:00 to 22:30, silent personal prayer, with compline at 22:15.
• Porziuncola Museum: from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:00; closed on Wednesdays.

With Masses almost every hour in the morning, the basilica is very busy: if you want the Porziuncola in peace, go in the early afternoon.

Entry and reservations

The basilica is free. The sanctuary has an online booking system for groups and for the museum, whose admission you can check on its website. It is a sanctuary in use: dress respectfully and keep quiet.

On 1 and 2 August the Pardon of Assisi, the great feast of the Porziuncola, is celebrated here. On those days there are huge crowds.

Getting there

If you arrive in Assisi by train, the station is in Santa Maria degli Angeli: the basilica is a few minutes' walk away. From the upper town you come down by town bus or by car.

The logical thing is to start here and then go up to the town: to the Basilica of St Francis, where he is buried, and to the Rocca Maggiore. If you walk back from Spello along the Via di Francesco, the train drops you here too.

Accessibility and children

The basilica is on the plain, without the slopes of the upper town: with a wheelchair or pushchair it is the easiest visit in Assisi. With children, the chapel inside the church and the gilded statue on the façade tend to catch their attention; the visit is short.