The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Seconds before the first shock of the tragic earthquake that rocked the central Italian town of Assisi on September 26, 1997, Ghigo Roli completed photographing the interior of the Upper Basilica of St. Francis. He had been working for months on detailed pictures of the vault and its precious medieval frescoes for a forthcoming publication. Just as he stepped out into the night air, at 2:30 A.M., the earth shook beneath him.

When it stopped, he ran back inside and, miraculously, found his camera intact amid the terrible destruction. Roli's work, which represents the last photographs of the Basilica's intact vault, is accompanied here by several photographs taken immediately after the destruction. An introduction by art historian Giorgio Bonsanti describes the vault and its frescoes in detail. This volume will stand as a memorial to the glory of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the world's great art treasures.