The making of Assisi: the pope, the Franciscans and the painting of the Basilica

Abstract

For a brief moment at the close of the 13th century, the town of Assisi was the focus for the two greatest powers in the Latin Church: the Roman papacy and the Franciscan Order. The election in 1288 of Nicholas IV, the first Franciscan pope, was the catalyst for the creation of frescoes of unprecedented intellectual ambition in the Basilica of San Francesco. At the heart of the new decorative scheme were twenty-eight scenes depicting the life of Saint Francis. Putting to one side the long debate about whether the Saint Francis cycle was or was not painted by Giotto, The Making of Assisi takes a fresh approach and treats the cycle as part of a larger, integrated, and far-reaching program of renewal at the Basilica. In this deeply researched, illuminating, and beautifully illustrated book, Donal Cooper and Janet Robson investigate the particular historical moment in which the frescoes were made, casting new light on their patronage and iconography.