Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

The enormous domed church you see as you approach Assisi along the Tiber valley is the 16th-century Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, some 4km beneath Assisi proper. Built between 1565 and 1685, its vast interior houses the Porziuncola chapel, a humble stone church where St Francis first took refuge after he'd renounced his worldly goods, which is generally regarded as the place where the Franciscan movement started. Nearby, the Cappella del Transito stands on the site where St Francis died.