• Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • PR/ADVERTISING
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Facts about Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi

To non Catholics a visit to Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi come as a revelation of history, beauty and spirituality. Here are 10 facts to explain the magic of the place.



Booking.com


1.  Size

According to Assisi Online Santa Maria degli Angeli is the seventh largest Christian church (St. Peter’s Basilica being the largest)  – A Mannerist styled basilica situated at the foot of the Assisi hill in Umbria.

2. Date

The basilica was constructed between 1569 and 1679. It is 126 meters long, 65 meters large and the dome is 75 meters high.

3. A church within a church

Inside the basilica directly under the dome there’s another little church of older origin which measures about 5.5 by 3.2 m. This little exquisitely decorated chapel called the Porziuncola (meaning “Little portion of land”) is the most sacred place for all the people and religious orders that adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi

4. Relics from the grave of Virgin Mary

According to legend the Porziuncola chapel was erected between 352-366 by hermits from the Valley of Josaphat in Israel, who had brought relics from the grave of the Virgin Mary. The chapel passed into the possession of St. Benedict in 516 who gave it on to St. Francis in 1208 on condition of his making it the mother house of his religious family. The church has never since been abandoned by the Franciscan friars.

5. Calling St. Francis

When St. Francis received Porziuncola it was in bad condition, lying abandoned in a wood of oak trees. St. Francis restored it with his own hands after being visited by a mystical vision of Christ. It was in the Porziuncola  Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and renounced the his father, his patrimony, and even his garments in order to live in poverty among the poor and thus started the Franciscan movement.

6. A special pardon

St. Francis asked the Pope to grant a special pardon to all sinners confessed, repented and acquitted who enter the Porziuncola chapel between the afternoon of 1 August and sunset on 2 August. Later the privilege of the Porziuncola Indulgence has been extended to all churches pertaining to the Franciscan Order.

7. Roses and turtle doves

From the sacristy of Santa Maria degli Angeli visitors can enter a rose garden which is the last remains of the ancient oak wood. In this place St Francis lived and talked to the turtle doves, inviting them to praise the Lord. Since then doves have been nesting in the hands of the statue of St. Francis in this rose garden.

Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi

The basilica in Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi

8. The miracle of the thorny bush

One night St. Francis felt a strong carnal temptation which induced him to roll naked in bramble thorns in an attempt to overcome his doubts. Upon contact with his body, the bramble bushes turned into dog roses without thorns. Even today a special thorn-less rose still grows in the garden.

9. St. Francis’ hut

St. Francis died in 1226 in a little hut serving as a primitive infirmary for the sick near the Porziuncola. The hut has been incorporated in the basilica as Cappella del Transito and above the small altar there is the rope of St. Francis.

10. Famous namesake

San Francisco in California was named after St Francis and here a 78% scale replica of the original Porziuncola Chapel has been built.

Other notes on Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi and nearby places

Perugia guide to the best photo ops

Pilgrim trails: A brick for Assisi

Perugia satellites – Signals from heaven

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
18 replies
  1. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    June 7, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    I remember standing outside this church and being awed by the sheer size of it. Never did go inside, which I can see was a mistake. Would love to see the little chapel.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      June 8, 2013 at 11:29 am

      I make that mistake all the time too, which explains why I have to go back to the same places again and again.

      Reply
  2. Stefanie Claus (@azzurrodiary)
    Stefanie Claus (@azzurrodiary) says:
    June 11, 2013 at 12:18 pm

    Complimenti per il tuo blog! Ran accross italian notes on twitter. Great informative writing! I just added italian notes to my feed reader ;)

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      June 15, 2013 at 10:33 am

      Thank you:)

      Reply
  3. Laurel
    Laurel says:
    June 12, 2013 at 7:55 am

    I’m not religious but enjoy exploring basilicas/churches/chapels and learning about the history since so much of history is tied to religion in one way or another.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      June 15, 2013 at 10:29 am

      My views exactly.

      Reply
  4. Mary {The World Is A Book}
    Mary {The World Is A Book} says:
    June 12, 2013 at 9:09 am

    I love visiting churches and basilicas and especially those with a rich history. I didn’t know all these details about St. Francis. I knew he was the patron saint of animals but all of this history and the church was fascinating. I will need to make it a point to visit the one in San Francisco.

    Reply
  5. Maria
    Maria says:
    September 21, 2013 at 3:10 pm

    I love the opening photo Mette – peeking through the tree boughs to see the dome and rooftop sculpture of Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi – fantastic!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      September 22, 2013 at 9:36 am

      Yes is lights up the sky, even on a very grey and rainy day.

      Reply
  6. Gloria Barr
    Gloria Barr says:
    February 28, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    The tiny chapel is fascinating to see. One wonders what St. Francis, who practiced simplicity and humility, would make of such an immense Basilica but it is definitely one of the highlights of any visit to Assisi.

    Reply
    • Mette Vaabengaard
      Mette Vaabengaard says:
      March 1, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      Indeed.

      Reply
  7. Federico Piccioni
    Federico Piccioni says:
    January 29, 2019 at 11:07 pm

    Your blog is fantastic!
    I’m from Santa Maria degli Angeli and I’m proud to see a lot of people come here to visit the church and the Porziuncola.
    I’d like to suggest you an 11th point: the name of Los Angeles, in California, is because of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Strange, isn’t it? :)
    The complete name is in fact “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina Virgen de los Ángeles del Rio de la Porciúncula de Asís”.

    Federico

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      February 11, 2019 at 7:12 pm

      Thanks so much for the kind words and for adding another interesting fact to my list of reasons to be fascinated by Santa Maria degli Angeli. I really must go back to Umbria some time soon:)

      Reply
  8. Leslie Willmott
    Leslie Willmott says:
    August 1, 2019 at 11:02 am

    I was just there and was struck by how contrary to the life of St. Francis the cathedral was. What especially horrified me was the sight of the dove’s, which are tied to the next on the statue. I watched them and saw one of them try to get up. It was picking at the string that tied its leg to the nest. Then there’s the fake rose perfume they spray there to prove the miracle of the rosebush. It was all disturbing.

    Reply
    • Mette
      Mette says:
      August 3, 2019 at 11:32 am

      I find quite a lot of those religious tableaux unsettling, but you are absolutely right. The set-up in Santa Maria degli Angeli does seem rather ghastly.

      Reply
  9. Leslie Willmott
    Leslie Willmott says:
    August 1, 2019 at 11:04 am

    I very much doubt that my comment will be posted, but anyone involved in this display should be ashamed.

    Reply
  10. Mette
    Mette says:
    August 3, 2019 at 11:33 am

    There’s no censoring in this case:)

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Facts about Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi Ita... says:
    June 19, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    […] To non Catholics a visit to Santa Maria degli Angeli Assisi come as a revelation of history, beauty and spirituality. Here are 10 facts to explain the magic of the place.  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Followon TwitterSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

Stuffed tomato recipeStuffed tomato recipeItalian NotesMarzipan covered rhubarb cakeMarzipan covered rhubarb cake
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Accept settingsHide notification only