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The founder of the Order Francis of Assisi depicted standing in a painted niche corresponding to the first register on the walls, next to the Fathers of the Church. Depicted with the brown habit and the cord, his main attributes are the wounds of the stigmata. With his gaze turned to Heaven, he holds in his hand a small and austere wooden cross, an object of adoration. The earthly story of Francis is known because it was written by his brother in the faith Tommaso da Celano. He was born in 1181 in Assisi, son of the rich merchant Pietro Bernardone. As a young man he led a dissolute existence, desiring the life of a knight. While he traveled to Puglia to join the knights of Gualtiero di Brienne, his conversion began in Spoleto, after an encounter with a leper and the vision of the Crucifix of San Damiano. He returned to Assisi, rejecting his father's wealth and embracing poverty. In 1208 he preached penance, lived on alms, dressed in a simple sack, united with his first companions. Innocent III approved the first Rule of the Order based on poverty, chastity and obedience. From that moment Francis began his penitential preaching, traveling in Italy, beyond the Alps and in the Holy Land. He returned to Italy and in 1224 received the stigmata on Mount Verna. He fell ill, became blind and composed the Canticle of the Creatures in San Damiano. He died on October 3, 1226.