Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino (Diocesan Museum and Crypt), Assisi

Just steps away from the city's Cathedral, the Diocesan Museum offers a small yet captivating collection of artworks, highlighted by a 1470 masterpiece by Niccolò Alunno. For those seeking a touch of mystery and history, the atmospheric crypt awaits exploration, accessed from outside via steps to the right of the facade. Discovered only in 1895, it houses fragments from earlier churches, featuring remnants of ancient frescoes, sections of a Roman wall and conduit, and a 3rd-century Roman sarcophagus that once served as Rufinus's original tomb, among other things.

Legend has it that Bishop Ugone originally intended to inter Rufinus in the Church of Saint Mary Major ("Santa Maria Maggiore"), then the town's cathedral. However, the townspeople advocated for the new church, leading to a symbolic tug-of-war over the saint's coffin. While the locals emerged victorious, the tale most likely serves as a metaphor for the growing influence of lay city councils during that era.