Oct. 28th: Assisi

Assisi was totally amazing! My friend Alexis and I woke up early to take the 7:45am train (which we RAN to, getting there JUST in time), arriving in Assisi right at 10am. I had ripped out and read the section on Assisi from my “Italy 2011” tour book so we already knew to take a bus from the station up the mountain that Assisi is built into, to get to the main center. Well, I have never in all my travels been so impressed with a transportation system and its signage. First off it is not very hard to find as the sign as it was right there in bright orange, reading “To Assisi”. But also the lines (line a, b, and c) are all mapped out under their stops, so you know where you are, which stop number you are, and what place each following stop number is- with pictures and all! I wish more places had such an organized and visually pleasing layout. Anyway, when Alexis and I arrived we realized it would be a foggy day, but we were still in shock when we reached the top of Assisi. The entire town was covered in a thick blanket of fog, to the point where you weren’t sure if anything you thought you were seeing was really there. The day felt like a dream from the very start. The bus dropped us off at the top of the town, and we planned to work our way down(hill), so we went into the Cattedrale di San Rufino first. It was so beautiful and detailed, and even more fascinating to walk through as the floors were glass sections that allowed you to see through to the crypt underground, still preserved after all these years. Also, the baptismal font of St. Clare and St. Francis was marked off, and even had a photo of Pope Benedict standing in front of it in 2007. Also, each nave along the side was dedicated so beautifully- the second dedication on the left was to Pope John Paul II- it had a beautiful and colorful painting with candles all around it- this same artist in fact did an entire series, and an extension was put onto the church that allowed visitors to walk down a hallway completely lined with paintings of Pope John Paul II, all done in fresco form, then framed. It was amazing to see this dedication to him, incorporated into such an old church with so much history.

After this we wandered down a bit and ended up stopping at a pastry shop and bought “Il pane di San Francesco”- you can’t come to Assisi without eating this local specialty. Alexis and I split a loaf, and ate it immediately- a delicious thyme and raisin based bread- it was the perfect lunch. We were then at the Church of St. Clare, but it was closed for lunch at the time. Clare is almost as popular as St. Francis here, as she was his best known follower. In fact, we saw just how popular she really is in the form of a musical! Yes, they advertised EVERYWHERE for a musical called “Chiara di Dio” and we went into the small theater where it is held at 5pm every day- all decorated with costumes and videos- it’s a big thing! Anyway, her name, “Chiara” means “light”. She too was born into a wealthy church and in fact escaped in the night to leave her wealth behind and live in poverty with St. Francis and his followers. She lived for 42 years in San Damiano with her sisters, and called her community the “poor sisters”. We saw many, many nuns and many Franciscans throughout our day in Assisi- you can tell they have a great sense of community with each other and with the townspeople. It was nice to be in a town where everyone seems to live their lives with a humble attitude and grateful spirit.

We wandered around a bit more, stopping in local shops along the way. It was so cool to see an artist painting pottery right there in his shop and another sorting his spices in his. I know this is something I will miss back home. The next big location we hit was the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which was a highly decorated structure built in the time of Emperor Augustus. Its gold leafing and elaborate engravings were overwhelming, and represented the expectations for “the perfect classical façade” subject to the baroque transformation in the 17^th century.

The next stop was my favorite- the home St. Francis was born and raised in. On the outside is a statue of his parents, standing together, with his mother holding a piece of chain. The building itself is a small church when you first walk in, as it had been converted many years ago. However, only a few steps from the door is a hollowed out piece of the stone wall with bars in front of it- apparently this was the prison cell in which St. Francis was forced into by his parents’ punishment and anger at his charity. It was so tiny- a person could only sit or kneel in it, and I imagine that is just what St. Francis did- lived on his knees praying all day and all night. It was the first moment I really felt like I was close to him, and that feeling continued as I exited the church to the side and entered the courtyard to the home, as it was originally, and even better- the DOOR to the Bernardone home! Original door, all broken down but still in place. That was awesome.  They also had the stock room open, just a large open room with stone walls and an amazing clay sculpture in the wall. Here we could just sit along the wall and think about how much this stone has seen. It was a great feeling.

We continued enjoying just walking around the town, admiring the shops and taking a million pictures. The fog broke around 2pm, and it was like a whole new look! I was glad we got the see the ghostly and also bright side of the day- it was interesting. Our last big stop was the Basilica itself. This place was HUGE! It has both an upper and lower church, as well as a crypt where St. Francis’ tomb is located. The upper church is best known for its 28 frescos, all depicting the life of St. Francis. I loved the ceiling- it was a bright, vivid blue with gorgeous gold reliefs- it almost looked like a dusk sky. The chairs that line the altar were also beautiful, each delicately made with inlaid wood scenes within them- it was amazing that even one chair could be so detailed, so to see dozens of them all lined up was overwhelming to think of the time and craft that went into creating them. The Lower Church is darker and more romantic, with a HUGE vaulted ceiling that centered over the altar. There were various sections along the edges with various artworks, in sculpture and painted form. There was also an additional altar in the back, where I witnessed a Catholic mass taking place in Italian right then. It again reminded me of the universality of the Catholic mass, in so many languages, but all saying the same thing at the same time. Pretty awesome. The crypt under the Basilica led to St. Francis’ tomb, which was much more open than I expected it would be. First off, all of this is totally free, so anyone can come at any time to pray in the Basilica and even at the body of St. Francis, as the room was more like a chapel, with high ceilings and two long rows of pews. Anyone can come and pray for as long or as often as they like, and built right into the stone walls lies the wooden coffin in which the body is held. There were no rails or bars or guards, it all felt very natural to be so close to the body of such an influential saint. The candle-lit atmosphere was quiet and respectful, but still very welcoming.

I really enjoyed this day trip- to the point that I would come back without hesitation. In fact, I would prefer to come back because I did not have time to see the original church that St. Francis himself rebuilt- that area is a bit of a walk outside town and we did not get a chance to go there. I would really like to see this simple wooden church, in comparison to the grandiose Cathedral built in his honor, where he dedicated his life’s work.