In the footsteps of Saint Francis

Travel program

1° day: ASSISI
Arrival in Assisi and check-in at hotel.
Visit to the Franciscan Sanctuary of Rivotorto, near Assisi, safeguarding within its walls the Sacro Tugurio, the humble shelter chosen by the Saint for himself and his first companions in around 1208. Followed by a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, preserving some important Franciscan sites, among which the Porziuncola, the place where Saint Francis first understood his true vocation.

Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

2° day: ASSISI
Breakfast in hotel. Guided tour of Assisi: the majestic Basilica of San Francesco, conserving the relics of the Saint, the Basilica of Santa Chiara, preserving the original cross which spoke to Saint Francis and the Church of San Rufino, important not only as the city’s cathedral but also as the place in which Saint Francis first preached.
Free for lunch.
Afternoon visit in private minibus to the hermitage, Eremo delle Carceri, the place where the young Saint Francis loved to retreat in prayer, and the Church of San Damiano where his conversion took place and where, later, the Saint composed the famous Canticle of the Creatures.
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

3°day: LA VERNA / SAN SEPOLCRO
Breakfast in hotel. Departure for the Santuario della Verna, the place where the Saint received the stigmata. Tour of the sanctuary and lunch in the Franciscan brothers’ refectory.
Stop on the return journey at San Sepolcro, birthplace of the Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca, where some of his works, together with those of other important protagonists of the Renaissance period and of the Mannerist style, like Matteo di Giovanni, Luca Signorelli, il Perugino and Rosso Fiorentino, are conserved within the city’s churches.
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

4° day: ISOLA MAGGIORE / PANICALE
Breakfast in hotel and departure for Lake Trasimeno: ferry trip to Isola Maggiore, another Franciscan site where the Saint spent an entire period of Lent with only half a loaf of bread.
Free for lunch.
Afternoon visit to Panicale, a small Medieval town in the hills overlooking Lake Trasimeno. The small town conserves important works, like the fresco “The martyrdom of Saint Sebastian”, by Il Perugino.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

5° day: GRECCIO / FONTE COLOMBO / POGGIO BUSTONE
Breakfast in the hotel and departure for the excursion to the Valle Santa di Rieti to visit three Franciscan sanctuaries: the Santuario del Presepe in Greccio, the place in which, on Chrismas night in 1223, Saint Francis presented the Nativity with living figures, the Santuario di Fonte Colombo, where the Saint received the cure for his eye disease and the Santuario di Poggio Bustone, the place from which he sent off his companions to preach throughout the world.
Return to hotel late afternoon.
Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

6° day: NARNI / CASCATE DELLE MARMORE
Breakfast in hotel and check out. Leaving Umbria, a brief visit to the Franciscan church of Sacro Speco in Narni, built near the cave where the Saint loved to retreat in prayer. Continuing the journey, a brief visit to the Marmore waterfalls, among the highest in Europe.
After the visit, transfer to airport and end of tour.

For a customized quote and futher information please contact us