The Basilica of Santa Chiara, built in the heart of Assisi between 1257 and 1260, is one of the most visited and spiritually significant places in the Umbrian city, second only to the Basilica of St. Francis. Dedicated to St. Clare of Assisi, the most faithful disciple of St. Francis and founder of the Order of the Poor Clares, the church holds the mortal remains of the saint and celebrates her spiritual legacy through art, architecture and worship.
The building stands on what was once the Church of St. George, the place where both Francis and Clare were temporarily buried. Commissioned by the Poor Clares and authorized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255, the new basilica was built of pink and white stone from Mount Subasio, according to an architecture inspired by the Upper Basilica of St. Francis, though with original features.
The gabled facade, simple but powerful, is divided into three sections: at the bottom is the entrance portal, in the center a finely worked rose window with a double row of small columns and arches, while at the top is a circular oculus. On the sides, rampant arches, added in the 14th century, give structural solidity and visual harmony. The square in front offers one of the most striking views of the Umbrian Valley and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The interior has a single nave with transept and polygonal apse, solemn in its essentiality. Originally entirely frescoed, it was partly drained in the 18th century. Nevertheless, valuable pictorial cycles remain: among them, in the right transept, the Stories of the Infancy of Christ, the Last Judgment, and Scenes from the Life and Funeral of Clare, attributed to the Expressionist Master of St. Clare, perhaps identifiable in Palmerino di Guido. Above the high altar stands a 13th-century wooden crucifix by the Master of St. Clare, with the Blessed Blessed at the feet of Christ.
Noteworthy is the Chapel of St. George, on the right side of the nave, which houses the famous 12th-century San Damiano Crucifix, from which, according to tradition, Christ spoke to Francis, changing his life. This cross, made by an unknown author, is one of the deepest symbols of Franciscan spirituality.
Below the chancel one descends into the neo-Gothic crypt, built between 1850 and 1872 and rearranged in 1935. Here are kept the personal relics and remains of St. Clare, displayed in a secluded and silent setting, the destination of continuous pilgrimage.
Adjacent to the basilica is the convent of the Poor Clares, rebuilt between the 16th and 17th centuries, and a cloister frescoed in 1696 by Brother Giuseppe da Gravina.
A place of intense spirituality and at the same time an extraordinary artistic monument, the Basilica of Santa Chiara is today a symbol of intercultural and religious dialogue. As Philippe Daverio put it, its walls tell “an infinite narrative,” a visual synthesis of a century and a half of European history, faith and awareness.
