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Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites

Assisi, a medieval city built on a hill, is the birthplace of Saint Francis, closely associated with the work of the Franciscan Order. Its medieval art masterpieces, such as the Basilica of San Francesco and paintings by Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto, have made Assisi a fundamental reference point for the development of Italian and European art and architecture.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/990

Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites is an eclectic site that was inscribed on 5 cultural criteria. It got praised as an authentic Umbrian hill town, a sanctuary, for its art and architecture in the Basilica of San Francesco, and for the influence of the Franciscan order in the world. The town, already a sanctuary in Roman times, has been associated with Saint Francis since the 13th century; Assisi was his birthplace, and he founded the Franciscan religious order here in 1208.

The area is also a cultural landscape, with its Hellenistic and Roman road systems and medieval pilgrimage routes. The designated area also includes four Franciscan sites outside central Assisi: Le Carceri, San Damiano, Rivotorto and Santa Maria degli Angeli.

The Basilica of Assisi was badly damaged by an earthquake that happened September 26, 1997. Part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside the church and carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/assisi.html