Assisi, home of saints and sinners (well, I was there!) (Assisi)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	Assisi
Date:	18/06/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, picturesque, medieval, home of St's Francis and Clare.

Disadvantages: Hilly, expensive, too many plastic saints in the shops!

Ever since hearing of St Francis of Assisi as a child I had wanted to visit his birthplace. I got my wish some years ago and visited there with two friends, I was not disappointed. It is a beautiful romantic villagey type city set on a hillside in Umbria. Right smack bang in the middle of Italy!

We hired a car in Rome and drove there in a morning. I was delighted to find that within the city perimeter very little building that was not in keeping with the place was allowed. The narrow winding streets unfurled to reveal a visual gift around each corner. I was hooked!

The first thing that struck me was the soft pink glow to the old stone houses, topped off with the traditional wavy terracotta roof tiles the combination was very easy on the eyes even in the blinding sun.

Images of Saint Francis are everywhere you look. He is, of course, the Patron Saint of the city and much loved by the populace and the millions of pilgrims who visit every year. However, don't be misled into thinking that Assisi is just for the religious, there is something in this lovely little city for everyone. (Unless you are looking for a beach, in which case you will be sorely disappointed!)

~~~Main places of interest~~~

The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St. Francis) was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000AD. The monastery was begun immediately after Francis was canonized in 1228, It took twenty five years to finish and dominates the slopes of the mountain it is built onto. It is the most extraordinarily imposing sight but I couldn't help wondering what Francis, who lived the rule of Poverty, would have thought of it.

Walking into the lower church on the same site is like walking into an art gallery, the frescoes are amazing and some look as good as if they had been painted yesterday. (Actually, come to think of it, some of them were 'painted yesterday' due to extensive renovation after an earthquake in 1997 destroyed some of the frescoes along with four tourists.)

The Cathedral of San Rufino (St. Rufinus), This has the most beautiful mediaevel rose windows. A lot of the interior dates from the 16th C but it was so dark inside it was hard to see everything properly. Also we weren't in there long, there was some kind of big service going on so we crept out quietly. (Of course, yours truly tripped over a grating on the way out and added a little something to the liturgy!)

Basilica of Santa Chiara (St Clare) This was my favourite, it's size felt a bit more manageable and there was the most beautiful statue of St Joseph at the back, it is so lifelike you could stand there waiting for him to speak. It was built in 1257 and contains the tomb of Saint Clare for whom Francis started the sister Order of the Poor Clares.

Chiesa Nuova,
A pretty chapel built over the parental home of St. Francis. Underneath it is possible to see the little house where he was alleged to have been reared. (It's a nice idea but apparently there is little evidence to back it up.) I liked it anyway and even if St Francis wasn't reared here, somebody was, and it was still possible to get an idea of what the houses were like around the time of Francis!

That's enough about the churches although there are plenty more of them to see!

The two Medieval castles. Huge things that dominate the town on one side. I didn't visit them but the remains are open to the public and there are great photo opportunities from the towers I am told.

A massive sculpture of a Goddess who is depicted covered with hundreds of breasts. "God help her when she goes to buy a bra!" was my first thought on viewing her! She is situated in the portico of a church on the main square. I never did find out why she was there. She looked a bit out of place really, like the reverse of a Nun at an orgy!

~~~Food and drink~~~
Places to eat and drink are plentiful. This place is a tourist/pilgrim trap so none of it is particularly cheap. I liked to buy some of the local bread, cheese and olives and settle down to a picnic on one of the many benches dotted about. A great way to relax, eat and people watch.

Formal eateries are abundant and you can pay anything from £12.00 - £50.00 for an evening meal. There is a discrete but very helpful Tourist Information Centre just off the Piazza Del Duomo. In there you will find lots of information about where to eat. Unlike a lot of places in Italy you won't get hassled on the street by the restauranteers to "Come in and eat!"

There are lots of little cafes for snacks and drinks and the local coffee is fairly cheap and usually powerful!

~~~Shopping~~~

There are no shortage of shops dotted about but very few chain stores.(Yayyyy!)
Leather is abundant and can be a very good buy.
Jewellery is very, very expensive except for the T crosses which mark you as a pilgrim and are made from olive wood. These cost about £2.00 each.

Designer clothes are more expensive than Rome and that's saying something!

There are lots of souvenir shops but some of the most tasteful ones are, suprisingly, in the churches. There are some beautiful carved olive wood animals for sale along with a plethora of anguished looking St Francis's.
"Tacky Souvenir of the Decade Award" must go to a plastic St Francis with a glow in the dark dove. I nearly bought it because it was so bad that nobody would believe me otherwise! Unfortunately he was distinctly cross eyed and I couldn't think of anyone I hated enough to give it to.

Don't miss the delicatessens for locally dried ham which is fabulous. Or local olives, honey and cheeses. They are all worth a try and make a nice gift too.

~~~Access for people with disabilities~~~

Assisi is a very hilly place with lots of winding steps and stairways. It is not an easy place to get around in. Most of the big churches have wheelchair access but after seeing them you would have difficulty if you weren't mobile.

Some of the major monuments have hearing loops for people with hearing difficulties. You would need to check first.

~~~Generally~~~
Assisi is very beautiful, at night some of the steps from street to street are lit by open flares in old cans. Smokey but atmospheric! The buildings are a pretty pink colour that I haven't seen anywhere else.
The people are friendly and helpful and proud of their city.
Most places are walkable to but there are a lot of hilly streets.
Vehicle access is very restricted in some parts due to the age, narrowness and gradient of the streets.
This is a great place to sit and watch the world go by, it is a very relaxed environment.

~~~My most abiding and embarassing memory of Assisi~~~

I was stood in a church Piazza looking at a parrot sat out in the sun. It looked as though it had been dragged through five hedges backwards. It was in such a sorry, baldy state of repair.
I said to it (as you do when you think you are alone and no one is listening!).
"Good God Polly you tatty little bugger! If anything on earth needed to be in Assisi to get some help from St Francis, it has to be you!"

I heard a rustle behind me and turned round to see a crowd of nuns trying not to wet themselves laughing at me. I started to laugh and they all joined in. When I tried to explain what I'd been saying to the parrot (with expletives deleted of course!) I realised that my Italian was simply not up to the job. One of the nuns rescued me by telling me they were all from a convent in Newcastle, England. (Oh God!!!) I had obviously made their day and we all went for a coffee which lasted most of the afternoon! I still get occasional postcards from one of them, addressed to 'Gill. The Parrot Whisperer.'

~~~***~~~

Summary: A wonderful place that combines comfort, rest, play, sightseeing, shopping and spirituality.