From Riches to Rags

Large cities such as Rome and Florence may house many beautiful works of art, but the truth is that every city in Italy is rich with art and history. This is particularly true for the little town of Assisi, home of St. Francis' Basilica. Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man. Francis fought as a soldier for Assisi and while he was fighting in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi. This is when he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, Francis begged with the beggars at St. Peter's. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following.

The church is not as ornate or as large as some of the Basilica's in Rome and Florence, but it is filled with a plethora of history. There are three different levels in the Basilica, the second and third are covered in frescoes and the bottom level is the tomb of St. Francis. Our tour guide was awesome and provided us with a great deal of information, he compared the paintings of the different floors to a baby and then an adolescent and then finally an adult. On the second floor, the frescoes are very simplistic and somewhat inaccurate. For example, there was a painting of a Jerusalem temple, but it was portrayed in a Gothic style. This is because people at the time had no way of knowing what temples in Jerusalem looked like, so they portrayed what was popular in their area at the time.

I think one thing that stuck me most on the second floor was the crucifix on the left side of the sanctuary. Above the cross was a small detail that could be easily over looked and it was the depiction of a pelican feeding its young. Our tour guide explained that it is because the pelican is the only bird that will tear it's own flesh off to feed its young when they are starving. This was very moving for me because it portrays the same self sacrifice that Jesus showed. Also on the second floor, there is a fresco representing the last judgment. This fresco has many of the same themes as Michelangelo's fresco of the last judgment in the Sistine Chapel.

The top floor was painted by Giotto, an artist admired by Michelangelo and Raphael. While the paintings were completed only shortly after the 2^nd floor, there is a huge difference. The characters are much more life-like and accurate. Many of the frescoes corresponded between the two floors which made is especially easy to compare the differences. One that I remember in particular was a portrait of Jesus with surrounded by a few birds. On the 2^nd floor, the birds were on the ground. There was no movement, no believability. However, on the 3^rd floor, some of the bird were in flight or walking around on the ground. Instead of Jesus having two vertical feet, his feet looked realistic and natural.

It was truly amazing to see the work of Giotto, especially to see how far he progressed the art style in such a short amount of time. I, personally, struggle to draw a stick figure, so I have a hard time imagining painting an entire sanctuary. It would have to take some much talent and time to complete. It is also amazing that hundreds of years later, these beautiful works of art are still available for viewing. I just hope that humans can continue to appreciate the true essence of these pieces.