We began by visiting the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Perhaps more important to the story of St. Francis, this church is located in the plain below Assisi. The basilica holds the room where St. Francis died in 1226, the rose garden with its thornless roses, and the Porziuncola. Construction of the basilica began in 1569 in order to protect the Porziuncola, which is the small church that was given to St. Francis.
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