About 30 kms away from Gubbio is Assisi. The two towns are linked together not only by geography but also by the history of Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone (aka St Francis of Assisi) who lived from approximately 1181 to 1226. A detailed account of the life of St Francis can be found in Wikipedia by clicking on the link.
When the town of Assisi first comes into view, it stands alone on a hillside
Assisi from below
surrounded by its walls and then by open countryside. All recent
The plain below Assisi
developments have been confined to an area some distance away, perhaps this is because the town is a Unesco Heritage site.
The Basilica di San Francesco is the most important church within the city in that it has the tomb of St Francis and more frescos than you can possibly absorb including a very famous and beautiful set by Giotto which describes the life of St Francis. Photography is forbidden inside the Basilica so if you want to see the frescoes click on the link.
Inside the city walls, all buildings have been restored to perhaps a better standard than when they were originally built.
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Never-the-less, the streets and their buildings give a very good feel for what the city would have been like back in history.
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The fact that Assisi is one of the jewels in the crown of the Italian Catholic Church has not stopped the local shops selling some “interesting” ecclesiastical souvenirs. Take your pick from any of the following:
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and a Giraffe
actually this is not a souvenir, it is a prompt to give money to support missionary work in Africa. Even so, one might question using a stuffed Giraffe as a prompt.
Despite the reappearance of the Icelandic Volcanic Cloud, our RyanAir flight back was only delayed by 1 hour.
Assisi is wonderful, Gubbio is even more wonderful. If you get the chance you should go there.
Thank-you Laura and Toni for a wonderful time.
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