The Piazza Superiore is the square at the end of the Via San Francesco or the Via Cardinale Merry del Val, on the way to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. It is a lovely oasis of calm between the city and the church itself.
Piazza Superiore Assisi
The square is somewhat irregular in shape and is mostly covered with grass. A hedge on this lawn that was cut in the shape of the word PAX. A second, larger hedge was cut in the shape of the Greek letter Tau.
Cemetery
The Piazza Superiore also serves as a cemetery at the Basilica Superiore di San Francesco, just as the Piazza Inferiore does at the Basilica Inferiore.
Between the Piazza Superiore (“Upper Square”) and the Piazza Inferiore (“Lower Square”) is the ancient medieval fortress of Assisi.
From hell to heaven
Before the Piazza Superiore received its second name, Colle del Paradiso (“Hill of Paradise”), it was called Colle del Inferno, since it was here that those sentenced to death were executed.