Assisi, City of Peace

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After a pleasant Italian breakfast at the hotel, made more so by our delightful host, we managed a reasonably early start on our visit to Assisi.
During the 10 years since we were in Italy we have often wished we had been able to spend more time in Assisi. Today we will take time to really explore the town. Getting into an underground carpark close to the town meant that the car stayed cool and so did we, for the time being.
We went into the Lower Basilica first, where we quickly realised we were in a very special place. A young woman could be seen restoring one of the screened off frescoes high above the floor. What an experience to be able to put paint onto pictures that were painted centuries ago, and what a talent she must have. All around us were people feeling as we were, a sense of quietness and reverence in this most beautiful place. The tomb of St Francis lies below the Lower Basilica and is clearly a place that means a great deal to those who visit.
The Upper Basilica has a magnificent set of frescoes by Giotto, each describing a different part of the life of St Francis of Assisi. We walked and sat and gazed and loved the whole experience.
Outside, the streets were filled with people coming or going to the Basilicas, including a good number of tour groups. We wandered through some streets and enjoyed a pavement lunch before we began the return walk to the car. Assisi and its message of peace and simplicity will remain in our memories.
Just outside Assisi is San Damiano, whose origins are bound up with St Francis and the founding of the first Poor Clares convent. On a sultry afternoon we found this a quiet and restful place to visit.
Back at the hotel for the necessary siesta, we had time to discover another place we read about, Rocca Sant Angelo, a seldom visited village 11 km from Assisi. With the help of Google Maps we plotted a course over little country roads and successfully located the village. Our information included the fact that in 2001 there were 27 people living in Rocca Sant Angelo, so we didn’t expect many streets. When we arrived it appeared that the 27 may have dwindled somewhat, as each entrance to the village seemed to end up in a private back yard. We felt it would be quite intrusive to persist with our attempt to explore this private little village, especially as some of the population began arriving home from work, so returned to our accommodation armed with the makings of an in-room evening meal and the firm intention to get up to date with the blogs.

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