Saturday September 30th, 2006
We go by car to Assisi. Here we start from S. Maria degli Angeli. Inside the church there is the “Porziuncola”, the place where S. Francis used to pray. On the side of the church there is a rose garden without thorns. This is, according to the legend, related to a fact in the life of the saint. Next place is Eremo delle Carceri, another place linked to S. Francis. In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi often came to this place to pray and contemplate, as other hermits did in the past.
When he first came in 1205, there was only a tiny 12th-century oratory. We proceed to the church of S. Damiano, it’s very nice, but not so well known. Then a short stop at S. Pietro and at the end we arrive at the church of S. Francis. In 1997 a strong earthquake damaged it seriously and the painted ceiling collapsed. After some restoration, the church is back to its original shape. We spend the rest of the afternoon walking in the city center. It’s almost the sunset and the light on the buildings is perfect (especially the cathedral). After dinner some pictures and back to the hotel.
Sunday October 1st, 2006
We spend the morning in Assisi, visiting some other churches, like S. Maria Maggiore. Then we proceed to Rivotorto where there is another sanctuary. At lunch time we arrive in Spello. It is an old walled town over the hill, with a nice landscape on the area. There are also some roman ruins. Another city I like a lot is Perugia, so we stop there in the afternoon.
We see some churches and palaces, like Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, the Cathedral, Fontana maggiore. It’s 17.30 when we arrive in Città di Castello, the last city in this trip. So we stay only few time. We see the cathedral, Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo comunale. Back to the car and in the evening we are at home.
