Religious and mystic Italian, founder of the Franciscan order. Almost unintentionally, he led a Christian renewal movement that, centered on love of God, poverty and joyful fraternity, had an immense echo among the popular classes and made him a very venerated personality in the Middle Ages. The simplicity and humility of Assisi ended up transcending his time to become a timeless model, and his figure is valued, even beyond his own beliefs, as one of the highest manifestations of Christian spirituality.