Assisi Webcam – Watch the Basilica and Piazza San Rufino

The Assisi Webcam looks down the lower square of the Basilica of St. Francis, at the western end of Assisi, to the church where the saint is buried. Long arcades line both sides of the gently stepped square, the Romanesque bell tower rises at its far end, and the basilica’s pale stone front, with a round rose window, stands above it on the right. To the left, beyond the arcades, the ground falls away to olive groves and the flat Umbrian plain, with a line of hills on the horizon. Visitors cross the square and gather at the arched entrance to the Lower Basilica at the end of it.

Three more cameras from the same operator sit in the tabs above the player. Piazza San Rufino looks across the upper town to the Romanesque facade of the cathedral, Piazza del Comune looks down on the main square’s fountain and cafe terraces, and the panorama shows the whole town on its hillside from the fields below, with the basilica at the left end, the Rocca Maggiore on the hilltop and Monte Subasio on the right. The San Rufino camera faces into the morning sun, so its first hours can look hazy.

About Assisi and the Basilica of St. Francis

Assisi sits at 424 meters (1,391 feet) on the western flank of Monte Subasio, in the province of Perugia in Umbria, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) east of Perugia in a straight line. The municipality had 27,862 residents at the start of 2022. In 2000 UNESCO added the town to the World Heritage List as “Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites”.

Pope Gregory IX laid the basilica’s foundation stone in July 1228, the day after he canonized Francis. The Lower Basilica was finished in 1230, the Upper Basilica was begun after 1239 and completed in 1253, and Pope Innocent IV consecrated both churches in 1253. Inside are frescoes by Cimabue, Giotto, Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini, including the scenes from the saint’s life attributed to Giotto. The colonnades around the lower square on camera were added in 1474. In September 1997 an earthquake brought down part of the vault, killing two friars and two of the specialists inspecting the church, which reopened after two years of restoration.

The cathedral in the San Rufino tab is dedicated to St. Rufinus, a bishop of the area martyred in the third century. Work on the present church began in 1140 to designs by Giovanni da Gubbio. Its facade, built of stone from Monte Subasio, has three carved portals with griffins, three rose windows and a triangular gable, and the lower two sections of its bell tower date from the 11th century and stand on a Roman cistern.

Weather and Climate in Assisi

Ten years of model data for the town’s elevation (Open-Meteo, 2015 to 2024) put July and August afternoons at about 30 C (86 F), with nights near 19 C (66 F). July is the driest month, with about 33 millimeters (1.3 inches) of rain. Spring warms steadily, from April afternoons of 17 C (62 F) to 21 C (69 F) in May.

Autumn turns wet. September averages 24 C (76 F) and October 19 C (67 F), with October nights around 11 C (52 F), and November is the wettest month at about 120 millimeters (4.7 inches). Winter afternoons reach about 8 to 11 C (47 to 51 F) from December to February, with nights around 2 C (36 F). The town gets about 1,000 millimeters (39 inches) of rain a year.

Things to Do Near Assisi

The old town runs east from the basilica to Piazza del Comune, where the Torre del Popolo of 1305 stands beside the portico of the Roman Temple of Minerva. Beneath the cathedral of San Rufino, the Museo Diocesano e Cripta di San Rufino, opened in 1941, keeps a third-century Roman sarcophagus carved with the myth of Diana and Endymion. The Basilica of Santa Chiara, begun in 1257, is known for the massive buttresses along its side, and the Rocca Maggiore fortress, rebuilt by Cardinal Albornoz in 1366, sits above the town at about 500 meters (1,640 feet).

The Eremo delle Carceri hermitage is 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) out at 791 meters (2,595 feet) on Monte Subasio, about an hour’s walk uphill, and the summit reaches 1,290 meters (4,232 feet). In the plain about 5 kilometers (3 miles) southwest of the center, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli houses the Porziuncola chapel.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More hill towns, pilgrimage sites and Umbrian views on the site:

• Orvieto Webcam
• Vatican City Webcam
• Castelluccio di Norcia Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Assisi located?

Assisi is in the province of Perugia in Umbria, central Italy. It sits on the western flank of Monte Subasio at 424 meters (1,391 feet), about 19 kilometers (12 miles) east of Perugia.

What can you see on the Assisi Webcam?

The main camera looks down the arcaded lower square to the bell tower and the Basilica of St. Francis, with the Umbrian plain on the left. The tabs switch to Piazza San Rufino, Piazza del Comune and a panorama of the town.

Where is St. Francis buried?

In a crypt beneath the Lower Basilica, the church at the end of the square on the main camera. The crypt was built after his remains were rediscovered under the floor in 1818.

Is there a webcam of Piazza San Rufino in Assisi?

Yes, in the Piazza San Rufino tab above the player. It looks across the square to the facade and bell tower of the Cathedral of San Rufino, with a glimpse of the valley on the right.

Is there a webcam on Piazza del Comune in Assisi?

Yes, in the Piazza del Comune tab. It looks down over the square’s fountain and cafe terraces toward the Torre del Popolo and the columns of the Temple of Minerva.

Does the Assisi Webcam show Piazza Santa Chiara?

No. None of the four cameras points at Piazza Santa Chiara or at the Basilica of Santa Chiara that stands on it.

Was St. Francis baptized in the Cathedral of San Rufino?

Yes. St. Francis and St. Clare were both baptized at the font of San Rufino, along with many of their first followers.

What is the weather like in Assisi in October?

October afternoons average about 19 C (67 F) and nights about 11 C (52 F), with roughly 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of rain. July and August are the hottest months at about 30 C (86 F), and January the coldest, with highs near 8 C (47 F).

Source: Umbria Webcam