Casa natale di San Francesco (Birthplace of Saint Francis), Assisi

This is believed to be the original site where the future Saint Francis of Assisi was born sometime in late 1181 or 1182. According to legend, his birthplace was once a stable housing oxen and donkeys, where his mother sought refuge to give birth. The inscription above the pointed-arch entrance refers to this tradition. The property was later transformed into an oratory and was first documented in 1286.

The façade is dominated by a Romanesque arch framing a Gothic entrance portal. Upon stepping inside this place of worship, especially after visiting the larger churches bustling with tourists, visitors immediately notice its humble, minimalist interior. Simple benches line the walls, while traces of 13th- and 14th-century frescoes survive above the raised altar.

Outside, in a charming, intimate square, stands a modern bronze sculpture depicting Francis’s parents: his father, Pietro di Bernardone, and his French mother, Pica de Bourlemont. Overlooking the square is the imposing 17th-century New Church, with its grand Renaissance-style façade. The church was erected in 1615 on the presumed site of Saint Francis’s paternal home.

Inside the church, near the first pillar on the left, visitors can see the room where Francis’s father, a prosperous cloth merchant, allegedly chained his young, rebellious son in an attempt to dissuade him from embracing a life of penitence and devotion to the poor. He hoped instead to steer Francis back towards the family trade. Francis was eventually released by his mother, who understood her son’s spiritual calling.