Day Four -- Assisi

Gayle and I had both heard that you shouldn't travel between Rome and Florence without a stop in Assisi. We got up at 6 am to make our train to Assisi. Pastries and Nescafé in the room. We never were able to use our free hotel breakfast, delivered to your room, because our days began before the kitchen opened. We opted not to trek our luggage up and down the Metro steps and took a taxi to the Roma Termini station. Not wanting to miss the train, since the process of train transportation in Italy is a new adventure for us, we arrived early. We were early enough that our train hadn't even been posted yet. So we waited and people watched, patting ourselves on the back for not having excessive luggage like some of our fellow tourists. We made it onto our train and found appropriate seats in second class. This is what we learned from our first foray into train travel in Italy: face forward to keep from getting sick and don't sit near to the entrance/exit.

We arrived at the Assisi train stop and lined up to buy a bus ticket for 1,30 euros. We were crammed onto the bus like cattle. We got off at the second stop, Porta Nova. It was still a long walk to our hotel but it was mostly flat. It was Saturday morning and they were having their farmer's market. We found our hotel (Hotel Umbra) tucked down a little alley off the Piazza del Comune. The staff was the most attentive hotel staff I have ever experienced. And the rooftop terrace has great views. 

 

We set out in search of adventure. After a less than stellar lunch, we headed to the Basilica of St. Francis. Down a steep hill, we entered into the lower basilica, which is absolutely stunning. No photos are allowed so I have none to share. One side of the lower basilica is covered with paintings of the life of Christ and the other side are paintings of the life of St. Francis, including one of him preaching to the birds. Off of the altar area is the Reliquary Chapel where you can view the relics of St. Francis.  Below the lower basilica are the remains of St. Francis.  We went down and paid homage to this man who lived simply. Then we climbed the stairs to the upper basilica, which is considered the first Gothic church in Italy. Giotto' works cover the walls depicting the story of St. Francis' life. Some of the frescoes have tan patches, the result of an earthquake in 1997 that killed two monks and two art scholars. Then we were outside the building in the upper courtyard.

 

When we left we decided we wanted to take a walking tour of Assisi but we didn't want to walk up the steep slope. We got a taxi to drive us up to Porta Perlicci. As soon as the taxi dropped us off I realized I had left my camera in the car. I freaked out but Gayle reminded me that the taxi would have to turn around at the top of the hill and head back down. Sure enough he came right by and I flagged him down. Disaster averted. We started down the hill.

 

Assisi is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Every way you turn is beauty. We headed down narrow roads and steep alleys taking photos left and right. There are Roman columns and medieval castles. There are churches everywhere. You can tell that the people of Assisi take pride in their city.

 

We entered the church of San Rufino where St. Francis was baptized. A statue of a lion eating a Christian welcomes guests at the front door. Glass panels on the floor reveal excavation of the remains of a 9th century church below.

On to the Basilica of St. Clare, who started the Order of the Poor Clares. Inside is the crucifix St. Francis was praying to when he received his divine message to rebuild the church. St Clare's remains, relics (including hair) and wax likeness are all kept below the altar and you can go down. No photos were allowed inside. But the outside was amazing.

 

We walked the rest of the way past  little shops of gelato, pastries, embroidery, wood crafts and more until we got to the Piazza del Comune. At this Piazza is the impressive Temple of Minervea, built in the 1st Century BC which has became the Church of Santa Maria sopra (over) Minerva in the 9th century CE.

 

We returned to our hotel, crawled under the covers and slept for a couple of hours. At 7:30 pm we ventured out to eat and found a little restaurant down a candlelit alley. The food was unexciting. 

 

Back home through the Piazza del Comune to our welcoming hotel. We leave for Florence tomorrow.