Sanctuary of Rivotorto, Catholic church and shrine in Rivotorto, Assisi, Italy

The Sanctuary of Rivotorto is a church with a pink stone facade divided into three sections and decorated with ornate portals, located a short distance from Assisi. Inside, mosaics cover the walls with scenes from the life of Saint Francis and the early monastic community that gathered here.

Francis of Assisi and his companions, among them Bernhard of Quintavalle and Pietro Catanii, lived around 1208 in a ruined hovel here before moving to the Portiuncula. A chapel received permission for Mass in 1455, and a larger church with convent buildings was built in the early 17th century. An earthquake destroyed it in 1854; between 1860 and 1880 a Gothic Revival church with a bell tower was built, and the Holy Hovel inside was returned to its original simplicity in 1926.

The interior walls carry paintings from the 17th century that show scenes from the early Franciscan community and their daily life at this site. These works give visitors a direct visual sense of the religious routines practiced here long ago.

The sanctuary sits outside Assisi and can be reached by bus or on foot from the train station. It is worth allowing extra time to walk around the surrounding grounds at a comfortable pace.

The stone hut is not below the church but stands inside it, rebuilt in the Gothic Revival building of 1860–1880 and returned to its original simplicity in 1926. The friars' first home was an abandoned, ruined shelter, and the site was then isolated countryside, harder to reach than today's sanctuary.