SAN FRANCESCO

Franciscan monastery and church in Assisi, Italy, begun after the canonization in 1228 of St. Francis of Assisi and completed in 1253. The crypt was added in 1818, when the tomb of St. Francis was opened. The lower church is where the saint is buried, and it has frescoes by Giunta Pisano, Cimabue, Giotto, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, and Andrea da Bologna. The upper church has frescoes representing stories of the life of St. Francis by Giotto and his followers, as well as wall paintings of Old and New Testament scenes by Cimabue, Pietro Cavallini, and Jacopo Torriti.