Day 7 - Assisi

Day 7, September 21, 2007

Assisi - where to begin?

An amazing hilltop city in Umbria - population about 25,000, with millions of visitors making it the most crowded place in Umbria, they say, and it certainly seemed like it could be. This place thrives on being the home of St. Francis of Assisi.

None of what I can say here can come even close to describing the magnitude and impact of this this city, but I will try to give some impression.

When you are approaching it, from a distance it looks quite white, more than any of the other places we have visited. That is because many of the buildings are built of a combination of white and pink stone. It is a very imposing place looking from below and it becomes more impressive as you wind your way up the hairpin turns to the top where the city sits.

This is the city of San Francesco and the huge Basicila in which his “relics” are housed is overwhelming. It dominates the east end of the city and consists of three levels. It is built on a hill (hell hill) where criminals were executed in the 13th century - Francis, who died in 1226 at the age of 44, had asked that he be buried there. He had made quite a reputation by the time he died such that construction on the Basilica began within a couple of years and the Pope came to lay the first cornerstone. For political reasons (apparently there was a long standing Roman belief that God was on the side of whoever was in possession of the body of a holy person) his body was hidden immediately, and hidden so well under the church that that it wasn’t found until about 1814. When originally built the Basilica consisted of two levels, the lower built between 1428 and 1430 and upper between 1230 and 1253. When his body was discovered in about 1814, they excavated under the lower church to establish a proper reliquary which is dark and mysterious, creating a sense of awe even for someone who is not a believer.

The upper churches are wall to wall and floor to ceiling frescoes which tell stories of Francis as well as Christ and all the other players. As the story tellers of their day these fresco artists, through their work, created what has been labelled the Biblio Pauperum - open pictorial public bibles to educate the poor, almost all of whom were illiterate, and bring them into the fold of the Catholic church.

In addition to the Basilica of San Francesco, there are Basilicas and cathedrals dotted all over the city. One large one to St. Clare, Francis’ cofounder of the Franciscan Order of the Poor Clare, another to San Rufino and many other lesser churches in this incredible city. The extent of the presence and influence of the Catholic church is overwhelming in this place, and in all of the towns and cities we have visited here.

Immediately across the Piazza del Comune (the town square) which was once an excavated Roman Forum, is the Tempio di Minerva, a Roman structure of several classical Roman pillars which is the facade for a 12th or 13th century church. Our hotel was just off this Piazza, so just across from the Roman columns. The Roman Forum, which still exists under the Piazza, was closed for renovations, so we were not able to see it.

We spent one full day in Basilicas viewing frescoes of every kind and by numerous painters, to numerous to remember - some quite beautiful and some completely uninteresting to me.
This is a walled city with multiple gates and the narrow winding interconnected stone streets none of which is level for any distance. We explored the city, some buildings, took pictures, shopped and ate gelato! At the end of the day we went to an excellent concert (string quartet and small orchestra) marking the UN Day of Peace on Sept 21.

I will include some photos including the Basilica of San Francesco, one of Basilica of St. Clare, the dog on the front of San Rufino (for fun - a lot of these odd creatures appear on cathedrals - the artists appear to have some fun if they have the opportunity) ) and an lookout over Assisi. I have also included one of our group walking toward one of the city gates.

I have tried to pick a favorite but so far have been unable. Every place has its own charm and beauty. And there are more to come as you will see in later posts.