Assisi

Of all the places I have visited in Europe, the town of Assisi is one of my favorites. When I first visited in late August 1996, I arrived at the train station outside of town. The center of town is about a mile’s walk. My visit coincided with the surrounding fields of sunflowers being in full bloom. With the medieval city of Assisi perched in the hills above, the walk through those golden sunflower fields to the city remains one of the most beautiful sights in my memory.

The train ride from Rome to Assisi is a little over 90 minutes, so I could not resist the temptation to take a short detour north. Assisi fits into a picturesque corner of the region of Umbria, and, upon seeing the town and surrounding hills, It is no surprise that Assisi is the home of three significant saints--Sts. Rufino, Francis, and Claire. Today, many visitors come to Assisi to enjoy the meticulously preserved and maintained town. Even more come as a site of religious pilgrimage.

I had hoped to hike from Assist to the nearby town of Spello (another medieval Umbrian hill town), but due to a later arrival than originally planned, I’ll have to save that idea for another trip. During our stay in Assisi, we visited the 13th San Rufino Cathedral, constructed in the Umbrian Romanesque style (my absolute favorite architecture). Both St. Francis and St. Claire were baptized in the cathedral, and St. Francis was known to spend much time in prayer at the cathedral, and preached there frequently. St. Claire is said to have been inspired to her own religious life upon hearing a sermon by St. Francis at the same cathedral.

Assisi later constructed great the churches dedicated to St. Francis and St. Claire, which we also visited. The Basilica of St. Francis is somewhat architecturally unique in that it is a church built over a church. The design was apparently influenced by a dispute between the Franciscan order, which prefers simple, understated design, with the Benedictines, who preferred a more grand, ornate structure to honor the great saint. In the end, the Franciscans built a sanctuary on the lower level in the simple Romanesque style, providing access to the crypt holding the remains of St. Francis. Above, the Benedictines built a larger, more ornate sanctuary “Upper Church” in the then-new-fangled Gothic style. In 1997, a strong earthquake struck the region, destroying much of the original frescoes that originally adorned the Upper Church. The Lower Church suffered less damage and was, consequentially, restored more completely in the follow years. The odd result today is that the Lower Church--intended to express a much simpler design and decor--has--at least in my view--the greater aesthetic quality.