Assisi, Umbria, Italy, Saturday, September 29, 2012

Early to bed last night because it was early to rise this morning. We walked down the nearly empty streets of Montepulciano to make sure we catch the 0655 bus to Chiusi. Our train is at 0902 and the next bus doesn’t get there in time. On our way down to the bus terminal, we pass a stop which says Tyne 0630 bus stops here at 0635. It is 0635 so we stop and wait to see if we can catch that one. At 0638, we figure we should just walk to the terminal, and about a minute after we do, we watch the 0635 bus blow by. Oh what the hey, we need the exercise anyway! We arrive at the bus terminal at 0645, and our bus is not there yet. It says it will be in lane 14. At 0650, a bus pulls into lane 12. If it is one thing I have learned with the Italian bus system, it is always ask if the bus is yours. So I do and it is. We get on, and the driver gets off. Very normal here, we are sure when he has had his cappuccino, we will leave. Right on time 5 minutes late at 0700, we get going. Carol sat across the aisle thinking she was going to snooze. This was not to be because we are on the 0700 rock and roll bus to Chiusi. I, not having had much music opportunity, am loving the rock and roll bus. The station is a mix of American rock and Italian rock music so it is all good. The buses run for the local workers but the schedules are really designed for the school kids. Along the way, we stop in out of the way places to pick up kids. They all get off about a 30 minutes into our journey. We make it to the Chiusi station at 0745, about 15 minutes ahead of the schedule time. I look at a schedule and we can make a 0758 train so we plan on that. We are only on this train for two stops and then we change, but it goes on to Florence. There is also and express train to Florence which leaves about 5 minutes earlier on another track. While we are waiting, three ladies from Massachusetts show up with 5 big suitcases. They were looking for the other train but won’t make it and ask if this goes to Florence. I tell them it does but makes more stops and they stick with it because they know they can’t change tracks fast enough. As we are talking with them, they look at our packs and Carol mentions all the luggage, and they say, well we have been over here for 5 weeks. Carol says we have been here for over two months and one of them says, show off! It was pretty funny. I give them credit as they stayed in one hill town and then traveled around by local buses to surrounding towns.

Porziuncola Chapel of St. Francis

The train arrives and we get off at our stop, and wait only about 10 minutes for the train to Assisi. Things are working out way too well and we arrive in Assisi over an hour earlier than planned. The old town is about 2.5 miles away up a hill so we are taking a bus. We have planned to see a Church that is down here first and start our walk to it.
St. Mary of the Angels Basilica is an important church in the story of St. Francis. St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare are the two main reasons pilgrims come to this town. We will learn some history of these Saints as we explore the area. The walk to the basilica is easy and flat, so we are happy about that.
We enter the Church and immediately notice that there is a small church under the dome inside this church. The tiny Porziuncola Chapel was given to St. Francis after his conversion. It was just a run down chapel with a small plot of land. St. Francis lived here after he founded the Franciscan order.

Capella Del Transito

The large Church, the 10th largest Christian church, was built in the 16th century over the chapel. It also houses the Cappella del Transito marking the site of St. Francis’s death on October 3, 1226.
We exit the church through the Rose garden where St. Francis fighting a temptation threw himself into the roses. The thorns fell off all the roses and thornless roses have grown here ever since. The Rose Chapel marks the spot where St. Francis lived in a small hut. The church is an interesting introduction into the life and death of St. Francis.

View From Piazza Santa Chiara

We exit and look for a place to buy bus tickets to the old town as there is a stop here. We are successful at a newsstand and wait at the stop. It turns out good that we got on here because we have seats and a place to put our packs on the floor. The train station is the next stop and the bus fills to standing room only capacity. 10-15 minutes later, we manage to get off, at the stop closest to our hotel. It is only 1100 but check in starts than so our timing is good. We walk to Piazza Santa Chiara and search until we see the Hotel Roma. Checking in, I ask nicely for a quiet room off the street, if possible. We are accommodated nicely and the room is very clean and nice. It is a long way from Palazzo Zerilli but than 3 nights here are costing us 30 Euros less than the 2 nights there. For the money we are paying, it is quite nice.
Free of all the extra weight we head out, and since our bus ticket is good for another 20 minutes, we catch a bus to the Piazza near the top of one end of town. We start out looking for the Roman Theater but take a wrong turn and end up at Porta Perlici, one of the town gates. The view is good here and we can see two fortresses, part of the town, and down into the valley below. We turn up a street to find the theater, climb, get a nice view of some homes, and walk on. As we follow the circular road, we realize that we are walking around the old theater, which at some point in history, turned into housing. The homes we were looking down on with a circular square ( is that even possible?) was the old theater in Roman times. Who knew walking in circles could be so historical? We do pass an ancient series of washbasins where laundry was done in Roman times. Carol wants to go get our clothes and do laundry, but I reign her in.

Drinking From the Roman Aqueduct

This is a very cool ancient part of town and we wind down old streets most of which date back from Roman times. There is a wall which contains a Roman aqueduct that still brings spring water from the hills. I have to stop and drink like a Roman. Who knows, Ceasar may have visited here and drank from this same aqueduct.
At this point, we can continue down into the more central part of town, or climb up the hill to Rocca Maggiore, the large fortress along the old wall. Since we haven’t eaten lunch and not much at all, Carol votes down into town, so we walk up the hill to the fortress. This is a medieval town and the King has spoken which he is sure when the Queen reads this will invoke a slap of some sort. Or she may just laugh and say, yeah right! Back to climbing, it is not too bad of a grade and we reach the fortress pretty quickly. At one end, there is a nice view down below of the Basilica of St. Francis.

St. Rufino Patron Saint of Assisi

We hang out for a bit, walk back down and emerge in the Piazza of San Rufino, where St. Rufino has given us a pizzeria. We do not get pizza here, we get tortas, kind of an Italian quesadilla, with thicker bread and stuffed with items. The bread is not quite pizza dough but is really good. I get spinach and sausage which is superb, with fresh garlic, making the day. Carol gets tomato and mozzarella. Now, she is happy once again.
We visit the Cathedral of San Rufino. Rufino was the towns first bishop and was martyred and buried here in the 3rd century. For those of you on my Facebook, he was the answer to my trivia question of who was the patron saint of Assisi. St. Francis is the patron saint of Italy, but Rufino is the patron Saint of Assisi. We learn as we go and try to educate you with us.

Pope John Paul II Freco by Afrune

Outside the church are two lions eating Christian martyrs as a reminder of the courage of early Christians. Inside the church, is a baptismal font in which both St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized years apart and before sainthood. In 1997, an earthquake occurred and when inspectors came to check on things, they discovered old graves underneath as well as remains of a 9th century church and what may be the ruins of a Roman temple. There is also an old Roman cistern here which ties things together. It is amazing how much history is still buried here waiting to be discovered. We also tour in this church a series of frescoes of Pope John Paul II painted by Giuseppe Afrune. His frescos are unique made with a mixture of powder of caparo ( a local stone), eggs, vinegar, sugar, beef bile, and natural resins. The work is smoothed down and dried and then covered with rare resins, lime water, and mineral wax to make the colors brighter. They are quite stunning and amazing works of art.

Temple of Minerva

Continuing our walk, we enter Piazza del Comune, the main square in town and the most crowded. The Temple of Minerva marked the Forum and was a centerpiece of the town way back in the 1st century B.C. The columns are impressive and the steps used to be twice as long as the original street was lower. The church of Santa Maria Sopra (over) Minerva was added in the ninth century. Walking up to the alter, you can see the original Roman temple floor stones complete with drains for the bloody sacrifices that took place here.

Crucifix That Spoke to St. Francis

From the Temple, we follow the road to Piazza Santa Chiara and the Basilica of St. Clare. The church built in 1265 after Clares death, houses the crucifix which changed St. Francis life. In 1206, Francis knelt before this crucifix and asked for guidance. It spoke and told him to rebuild my church which you can see has fallen into ruins. The crucifix was originally in the church of San Damiano. The church of St. Clare also contains important relics of St. Clare and St. Francis.
Having had a full day at this point, we walk across the Piazza to our hotel and grab some down time before dinner. Dinner is about a .75 mile walk at a place we had read about. Locanda del Podesta has a nice atmosphere and we are the only ones in there when we arrive. We choose a pasta dish and a special 4 course meal to share. The meal starts with a selection of meats as an antipasto. The local salami, prosciutto, and capicolla is excellent.

Happy CNC

Next up is pennete alla norcina, and tagliatelle with wild boar in a white ragu which is the other dish we ordered. They are both phenomenal, but the pennete which has sausage and truffles is out of this world good. Garlic and olive oil enhances the flavor and it is hands down the most flavorful pasta we have had yet. Next up is grilled steak with balsamic vinegar, a salad, and a cup of cappuccino. It is all indescribably fantastic and the best meal we have had in Italy. We will be back for sure. We enjoy the slow walk back to the hotelier with great night views of the lights below. We stop down a small side street just above St. Stefano church and sit savoring the view and our day. We started out early this morning and we can put the long but memorable day behind us.
CNC
“To travel is to take a journey into yourself”- Danny Kaye

Expenses

5.40E- 2 bus tickets Montepulciano to Chiusi
12.20E-2 train tickets Chiusi to Assisi
2E- 2 bus tickets from church to Upper town Assisi
7.90E- 2 Torta from Pizza Da Andrea
6E- 2 gelatos
37.00E- 2 pastas, antipasto, steak, salad, cappuccino, bottle of wine from Locanda del Podesta. 1.50E Coperto
48E-Hotel Roma

Miles Walked- 8 Miles