The Benedictine Abbey of San Pietro stands just inside the western gate of Assisi, on the way down to the Basilica di San Francesco. The plain Romanesque facade of dressed Subasio stone, flanked by two slender towers, is one of the most handsome in town — quieter than the more famous churches and usually deserted.
The interior, in the form of a Latin cross with three apses, retains its 12th-century austerity. The crypt is the oldest part of the building. The abbey was founded in the 10th century by Benedictines from Cluny; the church standing today was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1041. Pleasant stop on the way to or from San Francesco.