The Roselo, or Rose Garden in Assissi

                                   The Roses Without Thorns
                             
                                     http://www.romesick.org/Romesick_Photography/Assisi.htmlLocated in the Italian region of Umbria is the charming town of Assisi; famous of course for its association with Saint Francis of Assisi. This town is home to windy little streets, ancient buildings and of course, the Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is one of the largest Christian sanctuaries in the world. Part of this sanctuary is the original stone chapel, called the Porziuncola, which is where St. Francis lived and worked after founding the Franciscan Order. It is also where he had his vision in 1216, during which he witnessed the Virgin Mary. Following this vision, the church was visited by a great many pilgrims, and thus the great Baroque church was also built.
Outside the basilica is the Roselo, or Rose Garden. Here, you will find a very special type of rose: one without any thorns! Legend has it that in this location, Saint Francis himself rolled naked amongst the thorn bushes, in order to combat doubt and temptation. It is then said that on contact with the Saint’s body, thorn-less roses began to bloom, and they still do to this day! These special flowers can only be found in this particular rose garden, and are named Rosa Canina Assisiensis. On the wall of the courtyard you can see a mural of St. Francis, surrounded by the modest Porziuncola chapel, olive groves and of course, thorn-less red roses.

 http://www.caftours.com/magazine/rose-thorns/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli

One enters the rose garden via the sacristy. It is the last remains of the ancient wood in which St Francis and his friars lived. Here he talked to the turtle doves, inviting them to praise the Lord. Doves have been nesting since times immemorial in the hands of the statue of St. Francis in this rose garden.According to tradition (already attested at the end of the 13th century), one night St. Francis, feeling the temptation to abandon his way of life, rolled naked in the bramble thorns in an attempt to overcome doubt and temptation. In contact with his body, the bramble bushes turned into dog roseswithout thorns. Since then, the dog rose cultivar Rosa canina assisiensis has been grown in the garden.

From the rose garden, one enters the Rose Chapel. This was the cell where St. Francis rested and spent the rest of the night in prayer and penance. Here St. Francis also met Saint Anthony of Padua. After his death a chapel was built in the 13th century, enlarged in the 15th century by St. Bernardine of Siena. It was decorated between 1506 and 1516 with a series of frescoes by several painters, among which the UmbrianTiberio d'Assisi, depicting the early Franciscan community and the first saints of the order, the miracle of the roses and the concession of the indulgence

 http://dioceseofgallup.org/pilgrimage/blog/2012/10/20/assisi-day-1-2/

The Rose Garden is especially interesting. In the hallway leading to the garden, there is a statue of the Saint upon which live white doves nest. St. Francis liked to talk to turtledoves in his garden, and ever since his death, the hands of his statue still provide a place for his feathered companions to make their home.