Assisi, Italy

February, 2001

Assisi is a town full of history and quiet beauty. During our stay, we spent most of our time walking the streets of this quaint town and eating the local foods and drinking the local wines. It doesn't get much better than that. So please join us in a short photo tour of some of the sites of this city that was influenced so much by one person, St. Francis.

Upon our arrival at the Hotel Fontabella, we were graced with a beautiful sunset. This photo was taken from our room window. The windows are all double windows that provide a greater insulation factor. It is not that it gets that cold in Assisi, but the Europeans are so much better at conserving heat and cooling than the vast majority of Americans. SoapBox Item: I wish that more American home builders would follow this example.

This is the "parking lot" for the Basilica of St. Francis. On the left and right are archways where you can hitch your horses to the iron rings imbedded in the wall. Call it early "Covered Parking." It is within that building that the Chancel Choir of St. Joseph recorded the Echoes of the Faithful CD. Many of the photos here are included in the CD insert and cover. For more information concerning this CD please refer to www.saintjosephcc.org/cd/ .

Walking out the hotel door, you find yourself almost in the middle of the street. This is a typical street in the city. One might even call it a main street as it feeds into the Basilica on down the hill. Parking is at a premium in the city, so we were glad that we did not have a car to worry about. The city is small enough that you can walk the perimeter in 6 or so hours. The city is built on a small mountain ridge and climbs and falls several hundred meters. There are very few flat areas outside of the "parking lots." It makes the walk exercise. Fortunately there are restaurants and cafes to rest and refresh yourself in along the way.

As you drive up to the main entrance to Assisi, you are met with this view of the Basilica of St. Francis. The whole place had just been cleaned from top to bottom, removing years of crud from the walls allowing the natural pinkish color of the stone to show. Walking thru the city you can find this same type of stone in almost every building and wall.

Also waiting to greet you is the local Polizia Municipale (the one on the left, altho I don't believe I would cross the lady on the right). We did notice that, while the people were polite and helpful, we did not see that many people out and about (as the photos will testify).

Walking down a winding footpath, you can really experience the mystique of the city. You can almost hear the voices from hundreds of years ago. Ever present was the feeling that Francis had walked down these very streets teaching kindness to others.

After turning the corner to the right in the picture above, the footpath takes a left thru this archway to a "main" street. Always look back to see from where you came. You never know what you might have passed by.

Every street turns into a picture postcard. I fell in love with the simple lifestyle.

Below is where the old fryers are buried. Such a peaceful setting.

The city streets seem to be a dream world within the old city's walls. Even here where the streets meet with the "outside" world.

There were so many archways in the city. And each one was a street. This added to the mystique of the city. Needless to say, we loved walking the city streets, and walk we did.