Vet Judy

On the way to Assisi, I was unaware there was a transfer and luckily the conductor came by right before the stop where the transfer was necessary and spoke enough English to indicate I was to get off the train here. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak enough English and I didn’t speak clearly enough Italian to establish where I was to transfer to? I scoured the maps inside the train station. The ticket office and information was closed, which seems to be the case without warning sometimes. Luckily with the help of my translation book, I figured out only one train going to Assisi from the transfer spot today, and luckily (ha ha) it was three hours. The first thought I had was oh goody, time for a few more cappuccino’s.

I arrived in Assisi before dark. You have to catch a bus from the train station to the center area of town. And once you get off the bus, it is quite the hike to the tourist information booth. And by quite the hike, well I mean, it may have well been the Rocky Mountains. The streets are a series of steep hills averaging 15-20% grades and to the center is a very good distance. At this point I was wishing my back pack was a little lighter. Just turning another corner, the words out of my mouth, were generally oh gosh ….not another steep hill. Made the information center before close and got a lovely place to stay at a religious institute. Ice cold, lots of blankets, and beautiful view of Assisi from the window.

I have tried to figure out when things are open and when things are closed here. This is fruitless. It seems kind of random to me. Shops are closed in the middle of the day, and open again in the evening. You can bet you will have a hard time getting anything other than a pastry or pizza in the middle of the afternoon. Wait until dinner though, between 7pm and 8.30 pm: then you can stuff yourself with appetizers, first course, second course, desert, wine etc etc. After all that you just can’t wait to get to bed.

Assisi is the hometown of St. Francis, born at the end of the 12 century. The Basilica was built after his death. It took most of 20 years to build it, and it is extravagant. It is likely contrary to his teachings of simplicity and poverty.

For almost 200 years upper and lower parts of the city fought for control of the land, which left Assisi open to be looted and ransacked and destroyed by invading forces no fewer than four times. It is a wonder such a beautiful place is left. In 1997 there was a major earthquake and part of the Basilica collapsed. It took most of the next 10 years of intense commitment and reconstruction to restore the majority of the fresco’s in the building. There is a video of this process available. It shows the destruction and also the rebuilding piece by piece.

The detail in the artwork is incredible. You can take an audio tour for a small donation to the church at the front entrance. The audio is available in multiple languages. It is worth the money to hear the history of the church and the contents within it.

The massive church has an upper and lower level and also the tomb of St. Francis.

For the best views of the city, take the trip to Rocca Maggiore. You can still climb the towers and get a panoramic view of the city, even though most of the place is closed due to earthquake damage. This trip is not recommended if you are claustrophobic, have difficulty climbing a seemingly endless stream of stairs.

It is worth taking a cab ride out to Ermeo Delle Carceri, a hermitage where St. Francis used to go and pray and meditate and preach. It is easy to see why he spent time here. There are a multitude of trails through the woods where you can walk peacefully. I wouldn’t recommend walking this 4 km long road, as it is on a steep incline and would take the better park of your day just to get there and back from Assisi.