Assissi: A Medieval Beauty

On the theme of day trips that I seem to be posting about lately, I really need to catch up on this one! A while back, I went to Assissi, a medieval town home to St. Francis' basilica and remains. When I signed up for it, I didn't know anyone else going. It was through school, however, so I figured I'd make friends by then! Sure enough, walking up to Archi Bar to meet the group, there was Danny from my Italian class. Two of our other guy friends were on the trip, too. Good start!

Upon arriving, we climbed up the steps to the town. These old, walled cities are always on a hill and make for a great work out if you want to explore them! We met our tour guide and headed down the road.

We stopped to take in this gorgeous view before going inside the first church.

Apparently the lions on the church are the old symbols of popes - before they each had their own papal crest!

One of the churches we went in had hardly any frescoes left. I guess they used it for a hospital during the plague. To clean it, they poured chemicals on the walls which literally melted the paintings away. They saved the back altar, however, by quarantining the area. It was a strange look to have stark white walls and then a brightly decorated apse to the church! I think I have decided that I like Renaissance and Baroque work better than medieval, anyway, though.

Continuing on our way, we saw lots of little shops and restaurants tucked in throughout the city. It never gets old to me!

[this used to be a trough for horses to drink from]

We finally made it to St. Francis' basilica! After sitting down for a bit of a history lesson, we went down to the basement level to visit his tomb. Very powerful. Ironic, though, since most of the kids I was with were Jewish! At least they're adventurous, too, and appreciated exploring.

[no pictures allowed inside but this is the courtyard]

After lunch in town, we did a little more exploring of the winding pathways.

It was a quick afternoon, though, so we hopped back on the bus soon enough! Since my mom and dad were here visiting, it left me with plenty of time to come home, eat dinner with them, and go out to Trastevere for some of the BEST gelato. [Fior di Luna {Via della Lungaretta, 96} cannot be beat!]