ASSISI (ancient Asisium), a city of Italy in the province of Perugia. It contains about 6000 inhabitants, depending chiefly for subsistence on the devotees, who, to the number of many thousands, make annual pilgrimages to the church which CDntains the tomb and bears the name of St Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order, who was born at Assisi in 1182. (See Francis, St.) This building is in the Pointed style, and was erected between the years 1228—30 It is attributed by Vasari to a German architect, and by its historian, Pietro Ridolfi, it is called Opus Teutonicum (Hope, On Architecture, vol. i.) The remains of an ancient temple of Minerva stand in the market-place, composed of six Corinthian pillars of fine proportions, and now forming the portico of Santa Maria de Minerva; and there are several churches of considerable artistic importance. The poet Metastasio was born here in 1698. Long. 12° 24' 50" E., lat. 43° 4' 22" N.