San Francesco is the main reason why people come here. I get it, it’s a religious site. People come here to pray, and they don’t want to be bothered by photographers. On the other hand, there are guided tours, so, I don’t really get, why in so many of the premium churches in the world, photography is forbidden. It also happened last year in the legendary Certosa di Pavia.
I would happily pay any reasonable fee (for a very loose definition of reason), just for having a photo permit. Using electronic shutter mode, my camera can be absolutely silent, and with stabilization, I need neither flash nor tripod. Oh my!