HISTORY: Assisi appeared at the beginning of the first millennium of our era, as a Roman city, called Asisium. Its Roman origins can be seen in several monuments such as the façade of the Temple of Minerva, the Amphitheatre, the City Walls and the Forum. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the town was occupied by the Goths and later by the Lombards.
Assisi is the birth place of Saint Francis, born in 1182 and canonized as a Saint in 1228, only two years after his death, by Pope Gregory IX. St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan religious order and was proclaimed in 1939 by the Pope Pius XII as Patron Saint of Italy, along with Saint Catherine of Siena.
GEOGRAPHY: Today, Assisi is a town in the Province of Perugia, in the Italian region Umbria. Assisi is located about 22 kilometers of Perugia, 42 kilometers of Spoleto, 72 kilometers of Orvieto, 160 kilometers of Rome and 164 kilometers of Florence.
TRANSPORT: The closest airport is the Umbria International Airport San Francesco d'Assisi, about 12 kilometers to the west. You can get to Assisi by train, from Perugia, to the west, or from Foligno, to the south. A train ticket from Perugia costs 2.65€ and the trip takes about 20 minutes. From Spoleto, a ticket is 4.10€ and the trip takes about 40 minutes. Assisi train station is located about 2.5 kilometers away from the historical center of the town, and to get from the station to the city you can take the bus C for a 6 minutes trip. The bus ticket costs 1.3€ at the ticket office or 2.00€ on board.
LANDMARKS: In Assisi, you can visit many interesting roman and medieval monuments, like Rocca Maggiore, the Temple of Minerva or the Amphitheatre, along with important religious sites like the Basilica of San Francesco, the Cathedral of San Rufino (Duomo of Assisi) and the Basilica Santa Chiara.
MORE INFO: Touristic Portal | Umbria Airport | Car Hire | Train Timetables & Fares | Bus Timetables | Hotels in Assisi