Yesterday we went to Assisi, Italy, the home of St. Francis and St. Clare. The first thing I noticed about Assisi was the lack of modern clutter. It might have been because it was Ash Wednesday and many shops were closed, but there was no graffiti, and the white and pink limestone made the town seem pristine.
We began at the Basilica of St. Francis. You'll be able to see from the outside that there is a lower basilica and an upper basilica, each built at different times. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but each was filled with frescoes of the life of St. Francis. There is a piazza outside the lower basilica, and inside that part of the church is where they hid the body of St. Francis for many years. I can imagine it being quite a surprise when they found it in the altar. It is when they found the body that they built the upper basilica. They also dug underneath the altar and created a crypt for St. Francis, which was closed while we were there, but that is where they celebrate daily Mass in honor of SFA.
Enclosed in the basilica is a cloister, where there is a lovely little courtyard. Other churches we went to include Santa Chiara (St. Clare) and the Duomo of Assisi. Santa Chiara looks massive from the outside, but the inside is actually quite small, compared to other basilicas we've seen. We went to a small chapel first and sat in quiet for a few minutes. That was a really nice change of pace compared to other tours that are go-go-go, where we hardly get a chance to look at something before we've moved on to the next thing. Then we went to the main part of the church, where most of the frescoes have been lost due to collapsing arches and cleaning. There was a little nun running a booth with holy cards, and instead of a small ash cross on her forehead, it looked like they had dumped the rest of the ashes on the top of her habit. She must be extra holy.
The Duomo of Assisi is very old, and is built on top of Roman ruins. There are voids in the paving that are covered with glass where you can see the Roman road below, and in the church you can see an original Roman cistern. This Duomo is where Sts. Francis and Clare were baptized, and we saw the baptismal font they used. This church has also lost most of the frescoes, due to cleaning, so there were ornate carvings next to white walls. To the right of the pews is a small door, and when we went into it we found a hallways with paintings of Pope JPII. They each portrayed a different aspect of him, from meditation to joy. It is a permanent display according to the plaque, and was a nice little surprise since the church was so plain.
After our morning of tours, we said goodbye to our tour guide Mara, who all the boys are in love with, and we headed to lunch. All 100 of us were eating at the same restaurant, and before we had gone to Assisi we were asked who would want a fish plate. Being the good little Catholic that I am, I said I would take the meatless plate. When we got to the restaurant, all the "fish eaters" had to sit at a different table. So I got segregated from all my meat eating friends and sat with the vegans and Catholics. Luckily I had a couple friends with me, Sarah and Andres, and I sat by a girl named Erica who has a gluten intolerance and is really nice.
It was a very odd situation, seeing as we were in Italy and they had trouble figuring out what we could eat. On a couple occasions they tried to serve us meats. They finally brought out our main course - an egg. Is that not a chicken? What is wrong with Italy? Anyways, I filled up on pasta and garlic potatoes and a yummy slice of cheese. Then we headed to the castle at the top of the hill.
We were already pretty far north, so the walk to the castle was very short. We tried to make it more interesting by climbing up the hill instead of going around it on the street. We stopped outside the wall and lounged in the sun for a couple hours. We had 4 hours of free time, and since most shops were closed we figured this was a perfect way to spend our time. We finally got up and Kelsey and I walked around the wall, where we saw the people that had gone inside the castle up on a tower. We stood below it and looked over the valley some more, and I serenaded everyone with The Sound of Music.
We wandered down the medieval streets to some shops and ended a perfect day with some gelato. I slept on the bus home and we ate dinner, lounged a bit, and went to bed. What a perfect day.
Word of the day: beard. Mara said it correct at first, but she paused after to see if we reacted, and then she said, "Is that correct? Beer-d? Not Bear-d?" Yes, Mara. St. Francis did not have a bear-d.
Spill of the day: water out of the pitcher at lunch, but I spilled it by Andres' plate so it looked like it was his fault. Once again, dexterity is going but aim is improving.
Sorry there are no pictures, I've been trying to upload them but they keep failing. Just look through my Facebook albums while you read this and it will all go together wonderfully.
Cara Marie
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