and 1930 this façade was given back its original pre-Baroque style by Cesare Bazzani (Rome, 5 March 1873 – Rome, 30 March 1939). The gold-plated statue of the Madonna Degli Angeli ("Madonna of the Angels") by the sculptor Colasanti and cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry, was put on top of the façade in 1930. On 11 April 1909, the church was raised by Pope Pius X to the status of "patriarchal basilica and papal chapel". Description The basilica has a rectangular ground plan, divided into a central nave and two lateral aisles, flanked by ten side chapels, with at the far end a transept, and a long choir in a semi-circular apse, protruding from the ground plan. The Porziuncola is situated directly under the dome. The interior is simple and yet elegant, with only a few decorations, in stark contrast with the decorations of the side chapels. The nave and the aisles were rebuilt in neoclassical Doric style by Luigi Poletti. The apse holds the precious wooden choir, carved by Franciscan brothers starting in 1689, the papal cathedra (with bas-reliefs by E. Manfrini) and the papal altar. The Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis died, is still preserved. It is situated under the bay of the choir, against the right columns of the dome. The side chapels were decorated by great artists from several periods, including Antonio Circignani (all paintings in the Chapel of St Anne, 1602–1603), Francesco Appiani, (Chapels of St. Anthony and St. Peter in Chains, 1756–1760), and Ventura Salimbeni (Chapel of the Removal of the Lord, 1602). The Porziuncola The chiesetta (little church) of Porziuncola (Italian for "Little portion") is the most sacred place for Franciscans. Francis was given this little church, dating from the 9th century, by the Benedictine monks. The church is decorated by artists from different periods. Above the entrance is the fresco by Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1829) depicting St. Francis receiving from the Christ and the Virgin the indulgence, known as the “Pardon of Assisi”. The side wall on the right side shows fragments of two frescoes by an unknown Umbrian artist. The austere interior is decorated in a simple Gothic style with frescoes from the 14th and the 15th century. The most outstanding work is the six-part fresco in the apse of this little church, painted by Ilario da Viterbo (1393). At the back, above the entrance,