Assisi City Guide

Through the ages, the Umbrian hill town of Assisi has always been completely dedicated to its most famous inhabitant, Saint Francis. The historical centre is located on top of the hill and is one of the most beautiful and picturesque towns in Italy. The entire inner city is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Assisi City Guide

Useful information

Assisi

Region: Umbria. Province: Perugia. City code: (+39) 075. ZIP code: 06081. Assisi has about 29.000 inhabitants, 10% of which is not of Italian descent. Tourist information: The Ufficio di Turismo is in the Palazzo San Nicola, in the city’s Piazza del Comune central square (Tel. +39 0758138680). Free maps are provided. The city hall (Piazza del Comune, 10 – 06081 Assisi, Italia) is also in this square.

Public transport

Assisi is located on a slope of the Monte Subasio in de region of Umbria. It is around 180 kilometres from both Rome and Florence. It is easy to reach by train and there are bus and (sometimes) railway connections to other Umbrian hill towns.

The nearest airport is Perugia‘s Aeroporto San Francesco d’Assisi. This is not located in Perugia itself, bu tin a municipality called Sant’Egidio. There is a direct bus connection from the airport to Assisi.

The railway station is 3 kilometers from the historical center, in the Piazza Dante Alighieri. The city is located on the railway line between Foligno and Florence. From Rome you need to first take a train to Foligno and then change onto the Assisi train. There are easy bus connections from the station to the centre of town. There is no luggage department at the railway station, but you can store your luggage in the station bar. It sounds slightly iffy, but we did it and it worked fine.

The Flixbus stop is in the Piazza Unità d’Italia, which is located at the edge of the historical centre. The company Busitalia provides public transport between the main cities of Umbria. Lines 006 and 007 take you to Perugia and line 029 to Todi.

For public transport within the city the most (and for most visitors the only) important line is C, between the railway station and the historical centre.

Assisi by car

From Rome: Follow the A1/E35 in northern direction to Orte. Then follow the SS33 toward Terni. Take the exit Foligno Nord/Perugia and follow the SS75 till you come to Rivotorto, where you to take the exit towards Assisi.

From Florence: Follow the A1/E35 in southern direction (towards Rome). From Bettolle/Sinalunga take the Raccordo Autostradale A1 Perugia, which will turn into the Raccordo Perugia/Bettole. Take the SS3bis towards Assisi/Foligno/E45/Cesena and then the Foligno exit toward Assisi/Spoleto/Aeroporto. Finally, follow the SS75 and then from Madonna Campagna the SS147.

Tourist attractions Assisi

Piazza del Comune Assisi
Torre del Popolo and Temple of Minerva

Very few towns have a bigger concentration of churches and basilicas than Assisi. The historical centre of the birth place of the saints Francis and Chiara is one big warren of alleys meandering from one sight to the next. The biggest attraction is the Basilica of Saint Francis, with the Piazza Inferiore and the Piazza Superiore.

The Basilica di San Francesco is on the top of the Colle del Paradiso, while the Eremo delle Carceri is located outside the city walls.

The main square of the city is the Piazza del Comune, from where the city’s main streets depart in different directions. It is located more or less halfway through the Via San Francesco, the city’s main street. Main buildings on the piazza are the Palazzo dei Priori (City Hall), the Civic Tower and the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church.

The Piazza del Vescovado, with the Palazzo Vescovile and the Saint Mary Major Basilica, used to be the main square of the city.

The Rocca Maggiore offers a gorgeous view over the surrounding countryside, including neighbouring towns like Bastia Umbra and Ponte Giovanni and, on a clear day, even Perugia.

The other main attractions are the Basilica of Santa Chiara, the Cathedral of Saint Rufino and the Eremo delle Carceri.

The defensive city walls around the center are still mostly intact. There are eight, predominantly medieval, city gates. The most famous one of these is the Porta San Francesco.

Very little is left of the Roman Amphitheatre, the arena of which has even been turned into a garden.

Assisi

Municipalities

Frazioni (Municipalities): Armenzano, Capodacqua, Castelnuovo, Colle delle Forche, Costa di Trex, Mora, Palazzo, Paradiso, Passaggio d’Assisi, Petrignano, Pieve San Nicolò, Porziano, Rivotorto, Rocca Sant’Angelo, San Gregorio, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Santa Maria Lignano, San Presto, Sterpeto, Torchiagina, Tordandrea, Tordibetto and Viole.

2 thoughts on “Assisi City Guide

  1. Don Vore says:

    My wife and I will be coming to Assisi in December 2023 for a couple of weeks. we have visited Assisi a couple times in the past. We have lodging arranged (private residence) and we have air fare arranged (flying to Rome – anticipating a train to Assisi (Santa Maria degli Angeli)).
    We watch Piazza del Comune WebCam every now and then. Do you have a calendar of events in the Piassa?

    Reply

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