This morning we woke up and said goodbye first to the Hotel Pennile and then to Ascoli Piceno as we bussed out way to Assisi. The ride was pretty great; I got a lot of reading done and even saw some great landscape as well. We ended up getting into Assisi early so we stopped at a church dedicated to St. Francis. As we talked about his history, a pretty ironic contradiction became apparent: while he dedicated his life and his teachings to that of simplicity and peasantry, the church built in his name was giant even a little gaudy. However, this did not take away from its greatness! The inside was filled with some pretty amazing light (the kind that needs angels singing as it filters in from the window) as well as some great decorations. In the center of the space sat the original church he preached at, which was pretty amazing to see the scale change, but a little odd because if you came late and had to sit in the back section of seats, you basically watched church on TV because it blocked all the views.After exploring there for a little while, we road up into the main part of the city where we got out and checked into our hotel. It’s a pretty great old hotel, although the bed situation is odd (two of the twins in our room share a headboard but are separated by a few inches) and we got shafted on the balcony situation (a great view of an alley instead of the landscape beyond the city). After reassembling we set off for our first stop of the day: St. Francesco’s Church. The courtyard in front was absolutely amazing, especially because it was built to follow the slope of the hill, adding a whole new dimension to the space regarding the various pathways that came together there. After a brief history lesson about its construction and the interesting way that it is actually two separate churches built on top of each other within the same shell, we went inside. The interior was very interesting, juxtaposing very dark areas with well-lit ones, as well as a pretty fantastic crypt that displayed the grave of St. Francis. Next we walked upstairs to the second church, which was much simpler but featured the main façade of the church.
Joe and I decided to use our free time here to explore up the hill beyond into the city. We ended up along a ledge that had fantastic views out into the valley beyond, with a staircase that led up to a parking lot just below the old fortress walls. After exploring up here for a little while we made our way back down to sketch with the group for a while. Next up we climbed a very steep but pretty great street filled with tons of shops and some of the best-looking pastry items I have seen here. We stopped in front of an old Roman church before breaking for the day. So without hesitation we walked right back down the street and got some gelato before beginning our own adventure.
We decided to find our own way up to the fortress, which turned out to be the best choice of the trip. We found some stairs that led up to a walled off area with a gate that was left partially open. We snuck inside and found the most beautiful and overgrown area that looked out over the city and the valleys beyond. After reveling in the nature and the road less traveled, we continued upwards along the edge of the cliff. After a good deal of meandering we made it up to the fortress. However, our journey first took us out into the landscape just a little ways down the hill, which gave the most stunning views of the surrounding area. The wind was unbelievably strong, and best part was feeling my chin beard blowing in the wind :D.
After a while we bear-crawled back up the hill to the fortress.
Although we didn’t go in, the main courtyard (now a parking lot but nonetheless stunning) and its views of the other mountain/hill ranges were quite fantastic. Next up was the long walk back down to the minor portion of the fort, which was filled with some great back streets, cats, and a seemingly unending series of views. Sadly, we couldn’t get within the wall, most likely due to our faulty navigation and cheesy tourist’s map (we needed a traveler’s map…), but we still enjoyed the trip. Our next adventure was a winding pathway that hit the remaining (five) major churches. Some highlights were a great centralized church with a pretty great crypt that was only lit by a single window, a church with an amazing entry courtyard (also a parking lot) that also featured glass-coverings over the original foundations of the church that snaked their way through like a snake, and a very plain church that was pretty spectacular in its stone construction. It was here, as we sat to sketch, that a drum line appeared to practice. This was probably the highlight of the day, as they played loud enough that some of our friends were actually drawn from elsewhere in the city to this church. It was pretty cool to watch them play and the beat was nice while I sketched.
Finally, it was time to head back in to meet up with everyone for our group dinner. Dinner was amazing: it consisted of a plate of pasta with sausage and alfredo-like sauce for the first plate, a pork chop with potatoes and sausage for the second, and tiramisu for dessert. We had a blast, and I am not sure if I have laughed that hard in a long time (we got some great looks from the four other patrons in the restaurant…whoops). After we said goodbye and struggled back to the bus, we rode for a little while before stopping to see the city from below at night, which was pretty great because even though we couldn’t see the density of the many layers, there were pretty consistent sets of lights that framed the town; plus the fortress was very lit up and appeared to float well above the town proper. When we finally made it back to the hotel, we dragged ourselves up to the room where I finished my book (sad face) and took a shower. It was pretty fun using shampoo from the hotel that came in a little pouch, and our sink shrieks every time we use the cold water, but it was great anyway. We all fell asleep almost instantly, and good thing because we have another long day tomorrow!!
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