For nearly eight centuries, the Basilica of St Francis at Assisi, a place of pilgrimage and a treasure house of medieval art, has captured the hearts of millions of visitors and kept alive the story of St Francis, patron saint of the natural world. On 26 September 1997, an earthquake struck Umbria, causing part of the Basilica to collapse, killing four people and grinding some of the frescoes to dust. Miraculously, the cycle of 27 paintings attributed to Giotto depicting the life of St Frances were intact. In this text, the fresco-cycle from the Basilica - perhaps one of the greatest picture stories ever created - is reproduced to illustrate episodes from the life and extracts from the key teachings of St Francis of Assisi, whose example still has the power to reach us today.