August 28, 2009 – Assisi: In The Footsteps Of St. Francis And St. Clare

• Bus 7:15 AM from Via Salaria to Termini.
• Train Termini-Assisi: departure 7:55 AM,  arrival 10:10 AM (the tickets were really cheap – €9.40+fee per person – bought few days ago at the travel agency at the Termini station, not the ticket window – the lines were too long!
  • Note: We bought the train tickets to and from Assisi at the travel agent at the Termini station after we had done a research regarding departure and arrival time, prices, train classes, etc. – at the Trenitalia website. It is also possible to purchase the tickets online – at the same Trenitalia website, but you have to sign up there first. That fast-loading website also offers a solid online purchase guide – consider doing it as it may be a significant time and money saver!
    

    Take a train trip to Assisi!

• At the Assisi train station’s coffee/sandwich bar we bought the bus tickets to get to the city center (€1.00 per person, one-way). The bus stop was just outside the train station.
• As in other places, we followed Rick Steves’ advice and prepared our Assisi itinerary according to his book “Italy 2009“. As always, his information was very accurate and helpful. Assisi Online website was also very interesting and helpful in preparing our day in Assisi.
• The bus trip from the train station to the top of the old town at Piazza Matteotti was exciting, with beautiful views around, although it was rather short as the city of Assisi is small (under 30,000 people live there now). The bus left at about 10:55 AM and reached Piazza Matteotti (the last stop) around 11:05 AM.
• Following the Rick’s advice, we spent our day in Assisi by taking a self-guided walk through the city of St. Francis and St. Clare – from the top of the hill to the bottom.
• We started at Piazza Matteotti and walked around the Roman Amphitheater (11:25 AM) through the gate in the city walls – the Porta Perlici – to enjoy a wonderful view of Umbria and two fortresses on the nearby hills – Rocca Maggiore and Rocca Minore (11:30 AM).
• Then we went back to town through the Porta Perlici and walked downhill (Via Porta Perlici) passing by centuries-old homes with flowering balconies
  

  Porta Perlici, Assisi

• Reached Piazza San Rufino with the 12th-century’s Romanesque Cathedral of San Rufino (11:53 AM). Rufino is the Assisi’s saint. He was the city’s first bishop who was martyred in the 3rd century and is buried there. St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized there.
• Cathedral of San Rufino was closing its door at 12:30 PM s0 we went for lunch to the nearby Café Duomo recommended by Rick Steves and offering free Internet access for the customers (you just have to buy something to drink or eat).  It was a very nice place to have lunch, drink beer and be able able to check the emails.
• We left the Café Duomo after 1 PM and walked down Via Dono Doni towards the Basilica di Santa Chiara, but we knew it would be closed until 2 PM, so we weren’t in a hurry. That area is a part of the medieval Assisi, with beautiful buildings as old as 12th century; many of them were decorated with blooming flowers.
• Like many other tourists (and pilgrims?) we had to wait for the Basilica’s door to open after the noon-2 PM break so we spent the remaining minutes on enjoying another breath-taking view of the Umbrian valley and of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.  St. Francis lived, worked and died there and now it is a very popular pilgrimage sight. The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli was constructed between 1569 and 1679 and is enclosing the 9th century little church/chapel – the Porziuncola – the most sacred place for the Franciscans because it was there where the young Francis of Assisi renounced the world in order to live in poverty among the poor and started the Franciscan movement.
• At 2 PM we entered the Basilica di Santa Chiara (Basilica of St. Clare). It is dedicated to another great saint from Assisi – St. Clare (Chiara in Italian) who was St. Francis’ friend. She founded another famous Catholic nun order – the Poor Clares.  The Basilica houses the tomb of St. Clare and a number of priced relics: St. Clare’s robes, hair and the tunic she made for St. Francis after he received the stigmata. But probably the biggest attraction there is the wooden Crucifix of San Damiano moved there from the Church of San Damiano where young Francis knelt in front of that cross and asked God for the guidance. It was in 1206 and God responded through the crucifix: “Go and rebuild my Church”.
• We left the the Basilica di Santa Chiara and walked uphill towards Piazza del Comune – city’s main square that was the Roman Forum). Corso Mazzini, the street leading to the square was full of  artisan shops selling local edible goods (e.g., oil, wine, etc.), olive-wood carvings, traditional embroidery and religious souvenirs. Many of those stores sell crèches – nativity scenes. It was  Saint Francis of Assisi who created the first nativity scene in 1223.
  

  Basilica di Santa Chiara, Assisi

• At 3 PM we reached the 1st century BC’s Temple of Minerva with majestic  Corinthian columns. The temple later became the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and has a 17th -century Baroque interior (3:10 PM). Opposite the church is the Palazzo dei Priori – that houses the city government (town hall) and the Pinacoteca – the gallery with paintings, frescoes, etc. from 13-17th centuries, including some Giotto’s works.  Info center is also located at the Piazza del Comune (under #12).
• We turned to Via Portica, then Via Arnaldo Fortini and walking towards our final destination – the  Basilica of St. Francis (Basilica di San Francesco), we found a little tiny Church of Santo Stefano from the 12th century. According to the tradition, its bell rang when St. Francis was dying.
• There were some more attractions along the next street – Via San Francesco – such as the Oratorio dei Pellegrini with interesting frescoes and the Museum of the Amazon Indians (documenting important Franciscan missionary work). We were also amazed when we saw a few nuns speeding on their Vespas along Via San Franceso.
• It was around 3:50 PM when at the end of Via San Franceso we found the Basilica di San Francesco with the Franciscan tau cross on the ever-green lawn in font of it.
  

  St. Francis on his return from the Crusade, Assisi

• The Basilica has three main parts: 1/ the Upper Basilica (the first Gothic church in Italy – 1228) with the gallery of 28 frescoes along the lower part of the nave – by young Giotto – showing the scenes from the life of St. Francis; the west end of the transept and the apse decorated with many frescoes by Cimabue; 2/the Lower Basilica (nave,  relic chapel, transept, courtyard, treasury, bookstore, WC), 3/the Tomb of St. Francis (below the lower basilica).
• It was a very emotional and memorable visit, one of the most important highlights of the whole Italian trip – right behind the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel/Basilica of St. Peter. There was a very special atmosphere there, soothing and inspiring energy emanating from the majestic buildings, the relics, the fascinating frescoes, etc.
• We could have easily spent much more time there – to pray and meditate and admire the beautiful frescoes, but we had to catch the train back to Rome, so just before 5 PM we left the Basilica, made use of a conveniently located WC and then went down Via Frate Elia through Porta San Francesco to Piazza Unita d’ Italia.
• At Piazza Unita d’ Italia we found a car/bus parking lot and two bus stops. Rick Steves’ book helped again – he wrote that if we wanted to go to the train station we should take “per f.s.  S.M. Angeli”. And we did so, but the bus came already full and there were dozens of people waiting with us to jump on. Luckily, we were among those who were able to get on (many people had to wait for the next bus). After a few-minutes trip we got to the train station, but the bus was so overcrowded that it was impossible to validate a ticket – we were like the herrings in the barrel…
• The train to Rome was to leave at 5:45 PM but we were hungry and having 10 minutes left, we ran to the nearby McDonald’s and quickly ordered a meal for everybody, praying to St. Francis for a speedy execution of our orders. It helped and we got back to the station just when train was coming. We had the tickets already – at €9.40+fee per person – bought few days ago at the travel agency at the Termini station.
• 20:03 PM at Termini.
• Bus to hotel from Piazza dei Cinquecento in front of the Termini station.

NOTE: Remember Rick Steves’ advice that if we wanted to go to the train station we should take “per f.s.  S.M. Angeli”? Well, that mysterious S.M. Angeli means the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. How could we missed it in the morning? It was just behind the McDonald’s, a 5-minute walk from the train station. We could have easily added a visit to that Basilica and the Porziuncola Chapel before taking the bus to Piazza Matteo (we had some spare time later during the day, waiting for the Basilica di Santa Chiara to open). Well, we won’t miss it when we come to Assisi the next time…