The alarm was set for 7:30 but it never made it. I crept out of bed around 6am to watch the shadows move across the valley as the sun rose above the mountains. It truly is a peaceful place, with one exception. Cars. Despite the super-narrow, often cobble-stoned streets, there are cars everywhere. Today being Sunday, everyone drove to mass - seriously. You could be walking down a quiet laneway and behind you would be the rumble of tyres on cobblestones.
We set out for the Basilica of St Francis around 8:40 for a 9am English mass. The Basilica is at the complete opposite end to where we are staying, however we managed to get there with a minute or two to spare. We walked in and were asked if we were there for mass? Si. In we went and sat down just as the cantor commenced singing the opening hymn. Curious, I thought, this is supposed to be an English mass and he is singing in Italian. The priests came in, all ten of them, (yes, ten) and mass began ... in Italian. Then it dawned on me. We were in the lower church, and the English mass was in the upper church. Oh well, another mass in Italian.
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| The Basilica of St Francis (the upper one) |
After mass we went down to the crypt where St Francis and a few other luminaries were buried and then upstairs to the Basilica where the English mass we should have attended was just concluding. We couldn't go into the main body of the church because the Solemnity was commencing at 10:30.
From there we walked up to the Basilica di Santa Chiara or the Basilica of St Clare, the founder of the Poor Clare nuns. Here we saw the original San Damiano cross that dates back to the 12 century. The crypt also contains the body of St Clare.
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| A fresco on a random building |
Each of these churches have wonderful murals and frescoes on the ceilings and on the walls. The more I see this form of art, the more I think that Michelangelo had good media. There are plenty of exquisite art works that easily rival the Sistine Chapel and you don't need to go through the purgatory of the Vatican crowds to see them.
It was now time for a belated breakfast, well a coffee and some pastry or cake. We stopped at a cafe we walk past on the way back to the apartment. The coffee was excellent - can you get bad coffee in Italy? (Not including the dodgy place we met the group on the morning of the Vatican tour.) And so were the pastries. We browsed the gelato selection, slowly and deliberately, and decided that would be for later. It was time go home and remove my jeans, replace them with shorts and walking shoes and climb the hill to Rocco Maggiore.
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| The view from the Rock |
The weather was perfect. It is a little cooler than Rome, much less humid and there is a nice breeze to keep you cool. We walked up the hill to Rocco Maggiore, an old castle/fort on the summit. It provides excellent views across both sides of the valley. I had been here before although I had not been inside the keep and I was keen to do this because it was the highest point and would obviously be the best vantage for photos. The cost to get inside Rocco Maggiore was 5.50€ each. Having been to Ireland we were used to shelling out a couple of € for any vantage point that provided a view, but this was a little expensive. Still, I wanted the best shots of the town, so we paid.
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| Rocco Maggiore looking to Rocco Minore |
It is easy to appreciate what a fortress this would have been and what a great advantage it would have supplied to its occupants. However, that was then. The keep and the surrounding rooms have a few minor exhibits, almost as if the operators had been forced to supply something. A couple of posters to read, a few dummies in traditional dress and that's pretty much it.
The main tower has a very narrow spiral staircase which is the only way up and down. It is not easily negotiated because it is narrow, the stairs are polished marble and slippery and it is not possible to see anyone coming the other way until you are on top of each other. I was almost dizzy when I reached the top because the spiral is wound so tightly around the central column. But the view ... no my dear reader, it was a disappointment. The highest vantage points had been windowed in perspex and protected by wire mesh, not exactly conducive to the killer photo I was chasing. There were some British tourists up on top and as they were taking the obligatory photo, one them began singing, "I'm on top of the world". Tempting to use it as a title, but no. Back down the stairs to ground level.
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| Nice view from the garden San Lorenzo |
The rock conquered, we sought an undiscovered route home and stumbled upon La Giardina San Lorenzo - a perfect little garden cut into the side of the hill overlooking the San Rufino Basilica and countryside. We had to stop and admire the view while we enjoyed a beer and toasted sandwich. It was a very pleasant way to while away the afternoon. Assisi is a series of meandering stone pathways. Generally they lead to a road that is capable of taking a car, but they are everywhere, leading off in all directions. Sometimes, you find a gem.
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| A Carpenter Bee buzzing around |
Next stop was Bibenda, a wine store that offers tastings of local, Italian and some French wines. They also do a nice line in salami, cheeses and offer desserts that have attracted a Michelin star. The owner and hostess is a delightful lady, very knowledgeable and very attentive. We discussed the different wines on offer and selected an 'orange wine' (a tag that is disappearing in Australia because of the Orange wine region), a local white and a red, a sagrantino, also from the local area. Both were superb - for different reasons of course. Briefly we discussed the possibility of purchasing one as a wineclub wine until I remembered we were paying 8€ for a glass, not a bottle. Then there would be freight and the usual rip-off Australian government tax that would bring the price to around 60€ a bottle or $80AUD. It was good, but not that good.
As we discussed the wines with our hostess she wanted to know where we came from and how we had acquired such a knowledge of wine. We told her we were from Australia and we liked wine. She replied there were are many good wines in Australia. When it was time to leave, we picked up our glasses and returned them to the bar inside. No, not necessary, she said, but so typical of Australians and most welcome. She thanked us for tasting the wines and then kissed us goodbye - famiglia...
While we were sitting enjoying the wine tasting, we were watching the restaurant next door serve lunch to its customers. Cloches full of smoke, giant jars containing desserts and goodness knows what, dishes with what appeared to be masts - it all looked really interesting. We had checked out the menu last evening and there were a number of things we were keen to try, so we thought we should prebook for lunch tomorrow. No deal. Closed Monday. So, dinner tonight it shall be.
Back to the apartment to attend to the mundane, washing, reading, blogging all the while enjoying the beautiful view we have of the surrounding valley.
Dinner scored mixed reviews which I'm sure you can live without.
fino a domani
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