On 17 July 1228 Pope Gregory IX laid the first stone of the Lower Basilica of St Francis. The crypt is reached half way along the nave and down a stairway. Here rests the remains of St Francis, which were only discovered in 1818. There is a beautiful 15th Century Gothic fresco of the ‘Madonna della Salute with the saints Antonio Abate, Francis and Rufino’, by Ceccolo di Giovanni. Also of note are the high alter from 1230 and the 14th Century canopy. The fabulous nave walls have a cycle of 34 episodes from the Old and New Testament.
