After visiting the “Basilica di Santa Chiara” in Assisi, Italy, and heading towards the “Piazza Comune”, we encountered the “Chiesa Nuova”, a modest temple built in 1615. It is given the name of “Chiesa Nuova ”or“ New Church ”, being the temple most recently constructed at that time.
The “Chiesa Nuova” is built on the former residence of Pietro di Bernardone, which is alleged to have been the birthplace of “San Francesco di Assisi”.
History indicates that in 1613, the Spanish Vicar General of the Order of the Franciscans, Antonio de Trejo, visited the city of Assisi on a pilgrimage. When visiting the house of Pietro di Bernardone, he felt sorry for the deplorable conditions of the structure. It is then that the Spaniard Antonio de Trejo decided to take action to save Pietro di Bernardone’s house.
With the help of the Spanish Embassy in Rome, the economic contribution of King Felipe III of Spain and the blessing of Pope Paul V, Antonio de Trejo managed to buy the property. Thus it was that the Spaniards that rescued this place of pilgrimage, making it the “Chiesa Nuova”.
The Church is built in the Renaissance style with a high dome divided into honeycombs. Its Greek cross layout is of a single nave. On the”Plaza de la Iglesia”, a statue of the parents of “San Francesco” is found.
