Historical notes on Assisi

Assisi is famous the world over, thanks to her favorite son, St. Francis. However, the city’s importance is also tied to other events that, over the course of the centuries,

have marked its moments of splendor, as well as to other less fortunate occurrences that were tragically connected with war. There are numerous legends that claim the 
city had noble origins, but what is certain is that Assisi was a center founded by the Umbrian tribes. 
It was later influenced by the Etruscans, as documented by the few artifacts that have come down to us, but the Romans were the ones to give it its well-established identity.

In fact, there are still numerous vestiges of the municipium known as Asisium, such as the lovely Temple of Minerva, several remains of pagan temples, the Forum, the amphitheater, epigraphs, cisterns, statues and parts of the Roman walls. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was attacked and conquered by the Goths (545 AD) and was then taken over the Byzantine people. It later fell under the rule of the Longobards and followed in t he footsteps of the Duchy of Spoleto.
Towards the year 1000, it began to establish its independence as a commune and was influenced to some extent by the religious and cultural reawakening that was spreading rapidly throughout the rest of the Italian peninsula as well.
Churches and monasteries were founded and castles were built or fortified. Following the patient reclamation work conducted by the Benedictines, the valley was sed for farming.
Eager to free themselves of the oppressive rule of Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, there was a popular uprising which was immediately put down by the imperial army and the town was then entrusted to the Duke of Spoleto.
It was during this period that St. Francis was born and because of this, Assisi has earned its place in Italian and, indeed, world history. In 1198, the Duke of Spoleto gave the city up to Pope Innocent III, who confirmed the privileges of the church in Assisi through a papal bull.
During the following century, the city boundaries were quickly extended and government authority came to be centered around the figure of the podestà.
After these periods of imperial and then papal rule, city life was greatly influenced by the animosities between many of the families of the local noblemen and condottieri.
These struggles for freedom went hand in hand with internal fighting and here, two main families predominated: the Nepis family (upper part of the city) and the Fiumi family (lower part of the city). The city was sacked again during the war between Assisi and Perugia and earthquakes, famine and plagues added to the town’s misfortune.
There was a succession of Seignories, including rule by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the Montefeltro family, Braccio Fortebraccio and Francesco Sforza, until the middle of the sixteenth century, when Umbria was conquered by Paul III and the city finally regained its peace and tranquillity.
Assisi has given the world a number of distinguished figures, first and foremost of whom are St. Francis and St. Clare. Other famous names include the Roman poet Sextus Propertius and painters Tiberius of Assisi and Dono Doni. More recently, nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers and historians such as Antonio Cristofani, Francesco Pennacchi and Arnaldo Fortini have contributed enormously to making this city famous throughout the world.