Assisi, Italy
February, 2001
Assisi is a town full of history and quiet beauty. During
our stay, we spent most of our time walking the streets of this quaint town and
eating the local foods and drinking the local wines. It doesn't get
much better than that. So please join us in a short photo tour of some of
the sites of this city that was influenced so much by one person, St. Francis.
Upon our arrival at the Hotel Fontabella, we were graced with a beautiful
sunset. This photo was taken from our room window. The windows are
all double windows that provide a greater insulation factor. It is not that it
gets that cold in Assisi, but the Europeans are so much better at conserving
heat and cooling than the vast majority of Americans. SoapBox Item:
I wish that more American home builders would follow this example.
This is the "parking lot" for the Basilica of St. Francis. On
the left and right are archways where you can hitch your horses to the iron
rings imbedded in the wall. Call it early "Covered
Parking." It is within that building that the Chancel Choir of St.
Joseph recorded the Echoes of the Faithful CD. Many of the photos
here are included in the CD insert and cover. For more information
concerning this CD please refer to www.saintjosephcc.org/cd/
.
Walking out the hotel door, you find yourself almost in the middle of the
street. This is a typical street in the city. One might even call it
a main street as it feeds into the Basilica on down the hill. Parking is
at a premium in the city, so we were glad that we did not have a car to worry
about. The city is small enough that you can walk the perimeter in 6 or so
hours. The city is built on a small mountain ridge and climbs and falls
several hundred meters. There are very few flat areas outside of the
"parking lots." It makes the walk exercise. Fortunately
there are restaurants and cafes to rest and refresh yourself in along the way.
As you drive up to the main entrance to Assisi, you are met with this view of
the Basilica of St. Francis. The whole place had just been cleaned from
top to bottom, removing years of crud from the walls allowing the natural
pinkish color of the stone to show. Walking thru the city you can find
this same type of stone in almost every building and wall.
Also waiting to greet you is the local Polizia Municipale (the one on the left,
altho I don't believe I would cross the lady on the right). We did notice
that, while the people were polite and helpful, we did not see that many people
out and about (as the photos will testify).
Walking down a winding footpath, you can really experience the mystique of the
city. You can almost hear the voices from hundreds of years ago.
Ever present was the feeling that Francis had walked down these very streets
teaching kindness to others.
After turning the corner to the right in the picture above, the footpath takes a
left thru this archway to a "main" street. Always look back to
see from where you came. You never know what you might have passed by.
Every street turns into a picture postcard. I fell in love with the simple
lifestyle.
Below is where the old fryers are buried. Such a peaceful setting.
The city streets seem to be a dream world within the old city's walls.
Even here where the streets meet with the "outside" world.
There were so many archways in the city. And each one was a street.
This added to the mystique of the city. Needless to say, we loved walking
the city streets, and walk we did.
Copyright © 2001 Dan Guy.
All rights reserved.
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