After about 90 minutes or so, we stopped at an Autogrill for lunch. Autogrills are similar to rest stops on American interstates but with better food. They also carry all manner of other items, some of which seem out of place. But the process in place to serve people could only be thought of – I should say this again – by a confused Italian. The cafeteria area is divided into few sections. There's a hot food line where you can load up on pasta, hot meals, main courses, vegetables and the like. There is a separate pizza bar where you can grab any of 4 or 5 types of pizzas. And then there's the sandwich area. To use this, you have to walk over to the sandwich bar, decide what you want while trying desperately to remember the Italian name of the sandwich, then get in line at the check outs to prepay for the items, then bring the receipt back to the sandwich area (another line) where they then get your sandwich for you. It was explained that the reason for this process was to keep the food handlers from handling the (dirty) money. But that never made sense to me. If you picked up the sandwich in the same way you put food from the hot food line on your tray and then checked out, no food handlers would touch money either. But who was I? A lowly peon, that's who. And one that had to wait in 3 lines to finally get a sandwich. It was a bizarre process, and one that we assiduously avoided for the rest of the trip. We stuck to the hot food.
Continuing on our way, I noticed that the scenery along the valleys on the ride to Assisi was phenomenal. Little villages were perched on bluffs in the green slopes along the Autostrada. We then arrived at St. Mary of the Angels Church where St. Francis lived and later died and established his Franciscan Order.
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels was built over the original tiny little church still inside. This is also a beautiful basilica and the little church was fascinating. Legend has it that if you walk through the small original church, all your sins were forgiven (at least I think that’s what it was), so you know I had to walk through it.
The front entrance to the cathedral is quite impressive, with large columns positioned in front of the huge entry doors. St. Francis received the original site of the church as a gift from the Benedictine monks of Mount Subasio and now the interior of the church contains the Cappella del Transito (Death Chapel), the place where St. Francis died on October 4th, 1226. This church, as well as the main basilica in Assisi, was severely damaged during an earthquake a few years ago. We viewed many of the preserved frescoes inside the church which is really impressive.
This might be a good time to mention that when you tour a cathedral in Italy, women are expected to wear clothing that covers the knees and shoulders, and men are not allowed to wear shorts or tank tops. Or skirts. (hehe)
Then it was up the road into the town of Assisi. Assisi is a superb hill town in the beautiful region of Umbria. To visitors, medieval "hill towns" are like storybook towns that time forgot; they did not develop into big cities over the centuries, but rather kept their narrow lanes, massive gates, stone buildings, and other features we find so charming.
But Assisi is much more than a pretty hill town. Thousands come to worship in Assisi's magnificent churches, and to pray to Francis of Assisi, a much-beloved saint.
We then met our local guide to tour the Basilica of St. Francis. The church is located at the end of a long colonnaded plaza. Inside are large frescoes by the artist Giotto and, as with all the basilicas, unbelievably ornate woodwork and ceilings. There are basically three churches built more or less one atop the other as part of the complex. Francis is buried in the lower chapel. The guide gave us a brief overview of what we would see in the lower chapel and then we descended through the mid-level church into the lower chapel. It was very crowded in the small chapel with pilgrims filling the pews and many walking up through the main aisle and around the altar containing the sarcophagus of St. Francis. It was a bit eerie, frankly, and we quickly made our way to the altar, making a U-turn, and then back out again.
No pictures were allowed in any of the three levels of the basilica so there was no chance to take pictures of any of the amazing frescoes. The church is filled with frescoes and I could have easily spent hours walking the entire complex.
Since the church was heavily damaged in the earthquake, iron rods were drilled into the arches of the colonnade for support as large sections of the ceiling frescoes above the altar in the main sanctuary had collapsed, killing four people during the quake. The officials had done such a masterful job of restoring the church to its original glory that even these signs of past destruction weren't enough to take away from its grandeur.
The outside of the basilica was huge and just beautiful, and the views into the plaza and down into the valley were incredible. For sheer natural beauty in its setting, Assisi was the most beautiful and serene place I saw on the tour. It was magical!
After the tour, we were informed that there was a change in our hotel. We were initially billeted at Mount Subasio Hotel, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, it was changed to The Giotto Hotel. Oh well, no big deal. So, we checked in into our hotel and were given free time to be on our own. This hotel and all of the hotels outside of Rome have room keys, which are the size and weight of a small boat anchor, so thankfully you are supposed to turn them in each time you leave the hotel.
We then walked up the hill along one of the main streets in order to get something to eat. Shona recommended a ristorante which apparently serves the best pizza in town. As usual, we got lost while looking for it. I asked an elderly woman in one of the old hotels that we passed, but she didn’t speak a word of English. You may meet people who may speak English, but the degree to which they do and the number that do, is inversely proportional to your need for information. So finding your way around (as in Rome) can be an adventure. Although I thought I would have no problem finding my way around and scoffed at suggestions that actually getting lost would be a good thing, it turned out to be true. We found things purely by accident and the best things of the day were completely serendipitous in nature. So don't sweat it if you get lost. You're not truly lost. Just keep walking north until you hear Swiss and bang a left. Seriously, just keep your cool and your sense of humor and eventually you'll get back on track and probably discover something better than what you were looking for. As we did. We discovered this beautiful restaurant wherein we had a great authentic Italian meal that we really enjoyed, especially as we topped it off with a cuppa of cappuccino. I was in heaven!
Soon thereafter, we were on our way for an optional tour of a cute little town of Spello, which is just in the outskirts of Assisi. If you want to experience the charm of a small Italian village and live like a local for a few days, then Spello is the place to be.
From a distance, the medieval town of Spello seems to melt down the hill which it graces. Tiny stone houses that dot the Umbrian countryside form this mesmerizing and charming town. Only occasionally do tourists stop in Spello; it’s not part of the "usual" foreigner’s travel itinerary. It’s one of those places that if you happen to drive past, you feel compelled to detour and discover. Mostly, Spello exists for the locals. But it’s that small town charm that the accidental tourist finds endearing.
Spello is a pleasure for those who love walking. Three well-preserved Roman stone arches form the entry points to the town: Porta Venere, with its towers, Porta Urbica and Porta Consolare. Once inside, the cobblestone streets meander in and out of mysterious alleyways that lead to simple, yet elegant stone houses.
After the walking tour, we had some time on our own, so what was there to do but have a gelato. Oh yes, gelato is as good as everyone says it is.
Dinner was at the hotel and we had pasta (but of course), steak and a yummy dessert. Be warned that the pasta in Italy is very different from the pasta that we are used to in North America or even in Asia. Their pasta has no meat but the taste is flavourful. I tell you, after having tasted authentic Italian pasta, I will never go back to the Olive Garden Restaurant again. (haha)
Postscript: The village of Assisi is right out of a Hollywood movie, with tiny shops lining cobblestone streets that wind up and down the hillside. It is a beautiful little town but everything is a challenging walk up the hills (even heading back down sometimes seems like up). The town is lovely and the views are magnificent. It is so sweet and peaceful that I didn’t want to leave…..
……to be continued
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