Maps spread out over the table in the kitchen this morning, coffees in hand, Jim and I were getting ready for our trip to Assisi. Originally, we thought we would take the train, but then opted for a drive instead. Putting the hotel location into our GPS, Jim asked for the address. I handed him our email confirmation. "Daf, this reservation is for the 19th - yesterday!" Now, I have to tell you, for every trip, I draw up a detailed itinerary, not just for Jim and I, but also for Christopher and Matthew. So much for details. I had the wrong day. In minor panic mode, we began searching for a hotel. Nothing was available at the hotel we had booked. I went to the veneer.com site and ironically, up popped the hotel (a few steps from the Bascilica) I had originally wanted, but that was unavailable for the 19th. "Book it, Dano" as Jim always says and we were on our way.
Our trip took us through the mountains in which our villa is located and down onto the Umbrian plains. Assisi, perced on Mount Subasio and glowing with it's tawny coloring, is visible for quite a distance.
A dear friend of ours, Richard Tone, loved Assisi when he and Meredith visited four years ago. He said that he found great peace here. Assisi is actually called The City of Peace! We were looking forward to our visit.
We wandered the town, viewing some of its sites and "getting the lay of the land" so to speak. It is a lovely town, marred partially, though, by the number of tacky stores selling religious paraphernalia and mini china friars, etc. But this trip was about St. Francis' Basciilica and
it did not disappoint.
The Bascilica is really a double church, one atop the other. It is truly magnificent. For Jim, the journey was a spiritual one (I could see it in his face) and for me, the non Catholic, it was about the art of Lorenzetti and Giotto.
Below the main level church is the tomb of St. Francis, buried here in 1230. I found the votive lamp hanging above the tomb to be quite moving. The oil for the lamp is offered each year by different cities in Italy to honor the figure of their patron saint. There is a small lower room containing the relics (Francis' habit, etc.)of St. Francis. Of particular interest to Jim and I was his chalice and patten. He used this at Subiaco to celebrate mass; it was donated by that monastery. We visited the monastery at Subiaco on our last trip to Italy.
The lower church is glorious, but it was the upper, that blew me away. There are a series of frescoes by Giotto encircling this whole large church. Giotto uses the frescoes - all 28 of them - to tell the story of St.Francis. Jim and I followed the storyline of frescoes ( reading from our guidebook) and wondering at his talent.
Umbrian cooking is famous. Thank you Mario Batalli! We set off after dusk for some Umbrian fare. I had a spelt pasta dish with different mushrooms and the famous truffle shaved on top. Jim - prepare yourselves - had pigeon. Yes, I said pigeon. It is a popular dish in Umbria and my darling husband was daring enough go for it. Our waitress even gave him the "thumbs up" sign. He said it was delicious. Sure hope it didn't originate in Venice's St Mark's
Square!!!!!
After dinner, we did our own passeggiata, and wandered the now quiet streets of Assisi. I think that this was my favorite moment of the day - no tourists, the Bascilica awash in dim lights, and the only the sound was our footsteps on these ancient cobblestones.
Arriverderci!
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