Assisi stretches out on the slopes of the Monte Subasio, above the plain where the Topino and Chiascio rivers flow. Although it can boast Roman origins, its present-day appearance, because of the buildings and also the urban structure is surely due to the city's development during the Middle Ages.
Assisi represents an ensemble of masterpieces of human creative genius, such as the Basilica of San Francesco, which has made it a fundamental reference for art history in Europe and in the world. The interchange of artistic and spiritual message of the Franciscan Order has significantly contributed to developments in art and architecture in the world.
Assisi represents a unique example of continuity of a city-sanctuary within its environmental setting from its Umbrian-Roman and medieval origins to the present, represented in the cultural landscape, the religious ensembles, systems of communication, and traditional land-use. Being the birthplace of the Franciscan Order, Assisi has from the Middle Ages been closely associated with the cult and diffusion of the Franciscan movement in the world, focusing on the universal message of peace and tolerance even to other religions or beliefs.
Assisi oldest nucleus, which is protected by a defensive apparatus made up of eight fortified entrance portals and a long belt of town walls, which are still perfectly preserved, is topped by two castles on peak of the mountain: the Major Castle, reconstructed by the Cardinal Albornoz in 1367 and the Minor Castle. All those who have the good luck of visiting this splendid town have to agree with who say that the beauty of the town goes beyond a short, and necessarily incomplete list of works of art more or less extraordinary, but it is however to be found in the atmosphere of places which the story and the faith of the Saint have rendered unique all over the world.