The life and career of Pablo Peña remain virtually unknown due to the lack of documentary sources. We know that after receiving a scholarship in Madrid from the Diputación de Oviedo, he obtained another one to travel to Italy from 1886 to 1890, where he spent time in Assisi painting several works which were exhibited at the in 1892.

The painting in hand depicts the pilgrimage to the Italian city of Assisi in what is known as Cammino di Assisi (Way of Assisi). It is a 200 kilometre route through the most important places in St Francis’s life and work which ends in the basilica devoted to the saint located within a monumental Franciscan complex.

This work shows a view of the Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and countless pilgrims in all sorts of attitudes. The salient features of this composition are the delicate pink hues of the buildings and the execution of the background. The image is similar in composition to a much sketchier one by José Benlliure (1855-1937), the Spanish painter who worked most frequently in Assisi at the time.