Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli

Santa Maria degli Angeli is a large Baroque basilica built from 1569 onward in the plain below Assisi, constructed expressly to shelter two tiny Franciscan sanctuaries within its walls. The first is the Porziuncola, a 9th-century Romanesque chapel where Francis of Assisi founded his order in 1209; the second is the Cappella del Transito, the small cell where he died in 1226. The spatial effect is striking — visitors entering the vast domed nave discover a complete freestanding chapel nested inside, a church within a church. As part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Assisi, the basilica ranks among Italy's foremost pilgrimage destinations. Each year on 2 August, thousands of pilgrims arrive to receive the Portiuncula Indulgence, a plenary indulgence first documented in the 13th century and still practiced today.