EUHeritageTOUR-TourGuide-Basic-EN

Italy
Matera,
Benevento,
Foggia,Trevi,
Assisi, Brescia
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
The Basilica of ST.
Francesco and other
Francescan places, Assisi
Description
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.
The extraterritorial properties of the Holy See that make up
this World Heritage site comprise a series of unique artistic
achievements - Santa Maria Maggiore, St John Lateran and
St Paul Outside the Walls. These properties exerted
considerable influence on the development of architecture
and monumental arts throughout the centuries in a large
part of the Christian world. The Lateran Treaty concluded in
1929 between Italy and the Holy See established that a
number of properties termed 'extraterritorial' and situated
on Italian soil remained the exclusive property of the Holy
See. In addition to the three great churches, there are
several remarkable palaces: the Cancelleria (1483-1517),
the Palazzo Maffei, the Palazzo di San Callisto and lastly,
the Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, renovated by Bernini and
Borromini. The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is one of
the four greater basilicas of Rome, of greatest artistic
importance, religious and urban planning. In papal Rome it
became one of the fulcrums of the urban plan of Sixtus V.
The basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its typical bell
tower and the cupolas, is a characteristic element of the
Roman scene. Characteristic of the basilica is the quality
and the abundance of the mosaics: those of the nave (36
panels) and those of the arch dated back to the 5th
century, while those of the apse have been finished in
1295. The beautiful rear facade, the work of Carl Rainaldi
(1673), is one of the most solemn realizations of the
Baroque architecture.
San Giovanni in Laterano was the first cathedral of Rome,
where Emperor Constantine allowed the pope to set up the
episcopal chair after 312. Popes lived in the Lateran
Palace until Clement V (1305-14) transferred the papal seat
to Avignon. The present name is a result of the importance
of the baptistry in the church, and of the presence of a