San Damiano
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San Damiano is the name of a church and a former convent in Assisi . The place is closely connected with the biography of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi (1194–1253).
location
San Damiano is about 20 minutes' walk below Assisi in the middle of fields and olive trees.
Religious meaning
The building complex, which consists of a chapel and the monastery , has largely been preserved and differs from most of the other church buildings in Assisi, which were lavishly decorated after the death of Francis of Assisi or, in the case of Portiuncula, with the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which were just as magnificent were colossally built over. In addition to the Eremo delle Carceri , San Damiano is probably the place in the Assisi area where you can best relate how Francis lived: simple, withdrawn and close to nature.
Vision of St. Francis
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During the lifetime of St. Francis, San Damiano was an abandoned chapel , some of which had probably already been torn down by farmers. In the year 1205, according to tradition, before the cross in the decaying church, Francis heard the words: "Francis, go and restore my house, which, as you can see, is already completely ruined" . The cross from San Damiano hangs today in the Basilica di Santa Chiara in Assisi.
First monastic community of the Poor Clares
In 1212 St. Klara and her companions attended the first convention of the Poor Clares , which her sister Agnes and her widowed mother later joined. In 1253 Klara died in San Damiano. The Poor Clares lived in the convent of San Damiano until 1260.
Poetry of the song of the sun
St. Francis also used San Damiano as a retreat from lively Assisi. In 1224 and 1225 he composed his famous Cantico delle Creature (Song of the Creatures) in San Damiano , known in German as the "Canticle of the Sun of St. Francis" .
Art history
The church has a single-storey open porch (portico). On his right, in the chapel of St. Hieronymus , there are frescoes by Tiberio d'Assisi, which were created around 1520.
Inside the single-nave church hangs a copy of the original cross of San Damiano. The frescoes in the church, including episodes from the life of St. Francis, date from the early 14th century. In front of the altar, a landing on the right with a crucifixion scene by Pier Antonio Mezzastris (1482) leads to the cloister with garden and the monastery. In the cloister there are frescoes by Eusebio da San Giorgio (1507). In the refectory , which is largely in its original condition, frescoes by Dono Doni can be seen in poor condition.
San Damiano, entrance to the church 
Cloister of the Poor Clare Monastery 
View of the chancel 
Choir of the monastery church 
in front of the church
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 3 ′ 42 ″ N , 12 ° 37 ′ 5 ″ E