The lands of St. Francis

The “Assisi-Spoleto Olive Belt” is tied to the figure of St. Francis, who turned a tree species of foreign origin into a universal symbol of peace. In the main Franciscan places – from San Damiano, a convent which sprang up around the field oratory where St. Francis began his religious life, to the Hermitage of the Carceri, the saint’s woodland retreat, to Santa Maria degli Angeli, where Francis founded his order and which holds the Porziuncola Chapel and the Transito Chapel, where St. Francis died – it is always possible to find the extremely close tie with the olive tree. The bond is also celebrated in the frescoes by Giotto in Assisi and Benozzo Gozzoli in Montefalco, dedicated to the figure of the saint.

In particular, in the latter’s “Sermon of the Birds” can be seen the “fertile slope” of Mount Subasio, where the farmlands long the slope and covered with arable crops punctuated by large oak trees along borders and in open fields provide the background for the greatness of Francis.

Also tied to the presence of Francis is the “path of the olive trees”, of interest from both a landscape and a historic standpoint: in two points the route crosses the path St. Francis took in 1218 to travel from Assisi to Monteluco, where a hermitage, or Sanctuary of St. Francis, stands.

Today the “path of the olive trees”, around 70 kilometers long and created thanks to the CAI (Italian Alpine Club), winds along mostly at an elevation of 500-600 meters a.s.l. It has easy, gentle gradients and offers hikers both splendid panoramic views and landscapes that are still well preserved. Here is it possible to appreciate both the thousands of plants of the Moraiolo variety and the elements built by man (embankments, terraces, chiuse, dovecote towers) to cultivate the olive tree down through the centuries. And that’s not all. A whole series of small urban settlements which, built during Roman times to escape the progressive transformation of the plain into swampland, can be seen still rather well preserved and known by the name of “castelli” (castles).

The path of the olive trees is open all year round and can be easily split into separate stretches.

The landscape of the “Assisi-Spoleto Olive Belt” also encloses the message of Umbria’s other great saint, Benedict of Norcia. The spirit of Europe’s patron saint can be found in the intensive labor and commitment devoted to the reclamation of the lands.

Benedictine monasteries such as those of San Benedetto in Subasio, Sassovivo in Foligno, and San Pietro in Bovara have preserved in their gardens for centuries the tree of Minerva, which also became symbolic for Christianity, as can be seen in the drawing of Trevi and its environs by Cipriano Piccolpasso (1575, Piante et i ritratti delle città e terre dell’Umbria: Plants and Portraits of the Towns and Lands of Umbria).

In the agricultural landscape the olive tree becomes a symbol not only of the Franciscan message “Pax et Bonum” (Peace and Goodness), but also of the Benedictine motto “Ora et labora” (Pray and labor).

The Olive Belt comprises both spiritual messages, together with other sacred epiphanies.

The hills covered with olive trees lying between Assisi and Spoleto have witnessed the lives of St. Francis, St. Clare, and Blessed Angela of Foligno.

Not only has the religious component always been strong, but in these areas it has merged together with the culture and traditions connected with the production of oil. This explains the cult of the Virgin of the Olive Tree practiced down through the centuries with accounts of apparitions of the Virgin (the most famous being that of 1399), over or near olive trees, and evolving within the framework of rural devotion with the main purpose of protecting the people from misfortune, and also helping to secure their livelihoods.

For example, in Assisi’s place names, this cult has left indelible marks through the names given to a church, a street, and various votive images.

The hills covered with olive trees lying between Assisi and Spoleto have witnessed the lives of St. Francis, St. Clare, and Blessed Angela of Foligno.

For example, in Assisi’s place names, this cult has left indelible marks through the names given to a church, a street, and various votive images.