The Basilica of Saint Francis stands at the heart of a comprehensive digitisation project designed to safeguard and enhance a fragile and universal heritage.
An initiative by Haltadefinizione and the General Custody of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis.
Joint venture with:
In collaboration with:
Under the patronage of:
Eight hundred years after the death of Saint Francis, the Basilica of Assisi remains a universal symbol of art and spirituality, where the Franciscan message takes visual form in the images painted by Giotto.
Preserving Assisi is a project by Haltadefinizione and the General Custody of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis of the Friars Minor Conventual, carried out through a joint venture formally established by public deed. The project is under the patronage of the National Committee for the Celebrations of Saint Francis and is developed in collaboration with the University of Florence.
Ultra-high-definition images and 3D surveys will be brought together within a dedicated digital platform, ensuring the preservation, study and access to a unique artistic heritage.
For eight centuries, Assisi has spoken to the world. It was here that Francis lived—a figure whose radical choice of simplicity profoundly shaped Western spirituality and the collective imagination of humanity.
The Basilica of Saint Francis stands as its symbolic and artistic core. The fragility of this heritage became strikingly evident after the 1997 earthquake, when the conservation of the complex became an absolute priority. In that context, the existing documentation—produced through the photographic campaign carried out by Franco Cosimo Panini Editore (Gruppo Panini Cultura) for the Mirabilia Italiae series—proved decisive, enabling rigorous and scientifically grounded restoration efforts.
Today, digitisation represents the natural evolution of that same commitment: a tool for preservation, study and dissemination, and a tangible cultural investment capable of ensuring the long-term conservation of the Basilica’s digital record.
The project aims to create a complete and accessible digital documentation of the Basilica, supporting its preservation, study and long-term public access.
To produce a comprehensive, ultra-high-definition mapping of the Basilica’s spaces and decorative elements.
To broaden the dissemination of Franciscan heritage by making the Basilica accessible to a global audience of scholars, schools and cultural institutions.
To provide restorers and institutions with advanced data and tools to monitor the state of conservation over time.
To offer multimedia content, images and storytelling that convey the historical and spiritual value of the site.
An integrated system of advanced technologies designed to document, analyse and preserve the Basilica of Saint Francis in every detail. From ultra-high-resolution photography to 3D surveying, through to the management and publication of content on a dedicated digital platform, based on a Digital Asset Management system specifically designed for cultural heritage.
An immersive experience that makes it possible to enter the Basilica even from afar, without sacrificing depth or detail.
A vast collection of images and data that will become a lasting resource for conservation and research.
A selection of preliminary visualisations offering a glimpse of what the project will make possible.
Launched in 2025, Preserving Assisi unfolds through strategic and progressive phases. The first digital recording campaigns have already been completed, generating initial outputs that anticipate the scale and complexity of the work underway. The activities will continue through diversified and integrated productions, designed to document, safeguard and enhance the Basilica of Saint Francis.
February – March ’26
April – June ’26
July – August ’26
October ’26
Since 2005, Haltadefinizione has transformed the way historical and artistic heritage is experienced, achieving the world’s first gigapixel digitisation of a work of art. Over the years, the tech company has specialised in gigapixel acquisitions, 3D imaging and multispectral investigations applied to artworks, objects and cultural documents.
Panini Cultura is a network of companies specialising in Digital Humanities, offering complementary and synergistic services for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage. It develops and manages fully integrated, end-to-end projects: from the digitisation of objects and their metadata tagging, to logistics, preservation and file management, through to communication and cultural enhancement via interactive digital systems and editorial products.
The Foundation for the Basilica of Saint Francis is a non-profit organisation. Established on 16 February 2002 at the initiative of the General Custody of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi, its mission is the protection, promotion and enhancement of the religious, historical, monumental and cultural heritage embodied by the Basilica and the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi.
The Department of Architecture (DiDA) is one of the organisational structures of the University of Florence (UNIFI), responsible for coordinating scientific research and educational activities, and operating in close synergy with the School of Architecture, which oversees academic matters. Its scientific and educational identity is rooted in the culture and science of design, understood as an integrated synthesis of aesthetic-humanistic, technical-scientific and economic-organisational components.
The project is currently underway and will be completed by October 2026. Preserving Assisi is open to the involvement of partners and sponsors who share a commitment to the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage.
Because heritage is not eternal. Digitisation makes it possible to capture the current state of the Basilica with a level of precision that cannot be achieved through traditional photography alone. It is an act of preservation, a contemporary form of memory: what we safeguard today will become a valuable resource for those who study and conserve this site in the future.
Gigapixel images and 3D models reveal details invisible to the naked eye: micro-cracks, chromatic variations, traces of ageing. By monitoring this information over time, it becomes possible to anticipate degradation processes and intervene in a targeted manner, reducing risks and costs. Technology thus becomes a tool for prevention and care.
Most of the materials will be made available to the public through online platforms, immersive experiences and educational content. A specialised portion will be reserved for researchers, conservators and institutions, ensuring the responsible use of more sensitive data.
Experiencing the Basilica in person conveys space, light, atmosphere and emotional impact. Gigapixel viewing, by contrast, allows one to see what the human eye cannot perceive: brushstrokes, pigments, the smallest traces of time. They are two different and complementary ways of engaging with the work.
The data will be stored in secure and continuously updated digital archives. The institutions involved will ensure their long-term preservation, so that they can be accessed, studied and used by future generations.
No. All the techniques employed are non-invasive. The acquisitions take place without any physical contact with the surfaces and without exposing the frescoes to risk or environmental stress. It is a respectful process, designed to document without interference.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
Simply follow the instructions included in the packaging or on our website. It’s easy to use and requires no special tools or skills.
