Saint Rufino: the Saint and the Cathedral
The Cathedral of Assisi, the church that houses the bishop’s cathedra, stands at the ancient heart of the city, on the side opposite the Basilica di San Francesco. It is dedicated to Saint Rufino, who, according to tradition, was the first bishop of Assisi and later became its patron saint. Information about the life of Rufino is found in a sermon by San Pier Damiani (Sermon XXXVI, Miracula Beati Rufini Martyris), dated to the mid-eleventh century, and in a fourteenth-century manuscript preserved in the Chapter Archives of Assisi (Legendary – Passionary no. 4), which recounts details concerning his passion, death, the discovery of his body, and the beginnings of his cult.
The story of Rufino begins in the third century in the city of Amasia, in present-day Turkey. From there, he departed with his son Cesidio to preach the Gospel. Having reached the region of Abruzzo, they continued their missionary work during a period of fierce persecution against Christians. Cesidio remained in the Marsica area, while Rufino went to Assisi, where he proclaimed the Christian message with such convinction that he ultimately offered his life for Christ.
On 11 August 238 he was captured, tortured, and killed by order of Aspasius, the Roman consul of the city. With a heavy stone tied around his neck, Rufino was thrown into the river Chiascio near Costano, where he drowned. His body was piously recovered and buried in the place where it was found. Only later, around the eighth century, were his remains translated to Assisi and placed in a small pre-existing church known as the parva basilica. This early Christian building has been erected on a site once sacred to the Roman goddess Bona Mater – the very location where the present cathedral now stands.
The Church
Rufino brought the Christian faith to Assisi, founded its Church, and suffered martyrdom there. For these reasons, the city’s principal house of worship – its cathedral – bears his name. The original parva basilica was rebuilt by order of Bishop Ugone in the early decades of the eleventh century. The church erected by Ugone, which became the cathedral, was Romanesque in style and flanked by the tall square bell tower that still dominates Piazza San Rufino today. About a century later, in 1140, the design for a larger church was commissioned from Master Giovanni da Gubbio, as recorded by an inscription set in a wall adjacent to the sacristy. Due to political tensions surrounding imperial authority and subsequent internal conflicts, construction of the new cathedral extended over more than a century. Saint Francis (1182–1226) did not live to see its completion: the church was consecrated only in 1253 by Pope Innocent IV. From the earliest witness of Rufino, the faith of Assisi handed down to Francis, who preached several times in the square before the still-unfinished church, becoming in turn a witness himself. It was here that Saint Clare heard Francis’s preaching and chose to follow him.
A Masterpiece of Umbrian Romanesque Art
The Façade of San Rufino
The Cathedral of San Rufino is adorned with a façade regarded as one of the most significant examples of Umbrian Romanesque art, executed between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries – a masterpiece comparable to the contemporary façade of the Cattedrale di Spoleto. The wall is divided into three horizontal and three vertical sections, the latter marked by tall pilaster strips. The lower horizontal section is articulated by panels and by three richly decorated portals: a large central one and two smaller side portals. The smaller portals are surmounted by lunettes containing pairs of opposing animals – two panthers on the left and two peacocks on the right. The central entrance is flanked by sculpted lions: the one on the left biting a man, and the one on the right clutching a ram in its claws. The left lion may symbolise the idea that only through death can one attain eternal life, while the right evokes the protection that the faithful find within the embrace of the Church. The portal is lavishly ornamented with geometric patterns, scrolls, and vine motifs inhabited by real and fantastic animals, flowers, and fruits. In the lunette above, a medallion (clipeus) contains the figure of Christ the King enthroned between the sun and the moon, flanked by the Virgin Mary nursing the Child on the left and Saint Rufino as bishop on the right. A series of blind arches supported by corbels carved with human and animal heads defines the middle section of the façade, which features three rose windows. The central and largest is surrounded by the Four Living Beings (tetramorph), the symbols of the four Evangelists, and supported by three male figures, or telamons, each standing on the back of an animal. On closer inspection, the left rose window also reveals sculptural decoration: Saint Michael the Archangel slaying the dragon appears at the centre, flanked by two figures supporting the circular frame. The right rose window, in turn, is accompanied by the figure of a dog.
The Symbols on the Façade of San Rufino
The number three, with its profound symbolic value, serves as the guiding principle of the façade of San Rufino. Indeed, it features:
- 3 horizontal sections and 3 vertical divisions
- 3 portals
- 3 lunettes
- 3 rose windows
- 3 telamons
The number three – emblematic of the Holy Trinity and traditionally regarded as the number of perfection – is not the only symbolic element expressed in the façade of the Cathedral of Assisi. The decorative programme abounds in sculptural details, each imbued with meaning (both individually and as a part of a unified scheme), rather than serving as mere ornamentation. For a twelfth- or thirteenth-century Christian living in Assisi, the message conveyed through this Romanesque sculpture would have been readily understood. Over the centuries, however, much of this symbolic language has faded from collective memory, leaving room only for interpretative hypotheses: the eternal conflict between good and evil; the call to civic concord and the rejection of violence; the mystery of the Incarnation; and the anticipation of the Final Judgement. Scholars also suggest that the imagery carved in stone reflects the turbulent historical and political circumstances experienced by the city during that era. The authors of this remarkable sculptural ensemble remain unknown, though the works are often attributed to the workshop of Rodolfo and Binello, who were also active in Bevagna.
The Interior, and the “tug of war”
The interior of the Cathedral no longer preserves its original Romanesque appearance. Owing to damage caused by earthquakes, it was completely renovated between 1571 and 1585 by the Perugian architect Galeazzo Alessi, who also worked on the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli and on the Palazzo Della Corgna in Città della Pieve. Divided into three luminous naves, the church is built against a Roman wall, portions of which remain visible behind the left-hand altars. Particularly striking is the second-century BC cistern, located just beyond the entrance, upon which the Romanesque bell tower was constructed. Sections of glass flooring allow visitors to view the remains of the earlier church beneath and to appreciate the historical stratification of the Cathedral of Assisi. According to tradition, both Saint Francis and Saint Clare were baptised in this very cathedral’s font. Their memory is honoured by two nineteenth-century sculptures – by Giovanni and Amalia Dupré – placed on the first two pillars of the nave. In his sermon, Saint Pier Damiani recounts a curious episode involving a dispute over the coffin of Saint Rufino. The conflict pitted Bishop Ugone, who wished to transfer the saint’s body to the ancient cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, against the people of Assisi, who desired his burial in the church that would later bear his name. Tradition holds that the matter was settled through a kind of contest – a veritable “tug of war” – over the saint’s casket. The bishop’s men faced a small group of townspeople, and it was the latter who prevailed, thus determining that the saint’s remains would rest for ever within the present cathedral.