The Pilgrims’ Oratory, erected in 1457, was an important place to stop and pray along the route that connected the imposing Franciscan basilicas of Assisi, San Francesco and Santa Chiara. Its construction testifies to the progressive increase of pilgrimages to Assisi in the fifteenth century. Pilgrims passing through this area could easily recognize the function of the building through the symbols that adorned the door. On the right side, the Franciscan tau; on the left, the stick with the bag; In the center of the arch carved in stone, the cross of the Hospitallers. The Pilgrims’ Oratory, erected in 1457, was an important place to stop and pray along the route that connected the imposing Franciscan basilicas of Assisi, San Francesco and Santa Chiara.

Its construction testifies to the progressive increase of pilgrimages to Assisi in the fifteenth century. Pilgrims passing through this area could easily recognize the function of the building through the symbols that adorned the door. On the right side, the Franciscan tau; on the left, the stick with the bag; In the center of the arch carved in stone, the cross of the Hospitallers. An imposing fresco painted by Matteo da Gualdo in 1468 dominated the façade, depicting the pilgrim receiving the blessing of the Redeemer seated in the center of the painting, with festive angels on either side of it. The face of Christ, still clearly legible, conveyed an aura of austere reassurance, in harmony with the inscription in the book he holds in his hand: “EGO SUM VERITAS”. On the left was St. James with his characteristic staff, while on the right was St. Anthony the Abbot. In the small church, there is the fresco of the Great Miracle of the Pilgrim of St. James, a well-known episode widely narrated in the hagiography of the pilgrim and has also found wide prominence in Europe, through sacred theatrical performances and popular ballads.

The story tells of an unsuccessful attempt by the daughter of an innkeeper to seduce a young pilgrim who, together with his parents, was making a pilgrimage to Compostela. As an act of revenge for the refusal, the young woman surreptitiously hid a silver cup in the pilgrim’s saddlebag, causing it to be later discovered. Accused of theft, the young man was sentenced to death by hanging. On their return from the pilgrimage, the parents discovered their son’s body still hanging from the gallows and wept over him, mistakenly believing that he was dead. However, the boy reassured his parents that he was still alive and that St. James was supporting him. The parents hurried to report the news to the judge, but the judge, intent on a banquet, refused to believe him, claiming that the culprit was as dead as the roosters ready on the table. Suddenly, the roosters came back to life with a sonorous crowing, and the young man was promptly brought back to his parents.