Florence, Assissi and Rome

On the way back from dinner Sunday evening it started to rain. Monday morning saw a trail of Holy Cross students walking their luggage down the street to the coach through the pouring rain. It was the first rain since our arrival at Heathrow.

We made a slight diversion on our way to Rome; why stop for lunch at an Auto Grille when we could go to Assissi, one of the top pilgrimage sites in Europe? We had contacted Mr. Blesch about the change and he thought the extra permits and gas charges were worth it.

I should mention that Assissi is a hill town so we arrived in Assissi through the lower part of the village and walked (climbed) up our personal Grouse Grind to the lower church. There are two churches in the monastry built one upon the other. The lower, older church contains the entrance to St. Francesco's tomb but unfortunately it was closed due to 'emergency repairs'. The lower church is a little somber and it is covered with beautiful frescos - no cameras permitted. A stairway leads outside to the cloisters and then a few more stairs lead to the upper, newer church. It is ironic that a man who embraced simplicity would be honored with two enormous churches. I suppose the simplicity is reflected in the lack of gold and large windows.

The frescos in the upper church were done by Giotto. He represents a turning point in art as he showed depth and perspective in his paintings. The frescos follow the life of St. Francis starting with his early acts of charity, his conversion, death and ended with his miracles. I think all our students were impressed and pleased that we changed our plans slightly. We then had a rather lovely lunch together that included things like truffle bruschetta, stuffed gnocchi, pesto gnocchi, delicious pizzas and more. As we walked through the upper gate to the village, the rain stopped bucketing and we had a smooth ride to Rome.

Danilo drove us to the Trevi fountain in northern Rome and we had the opportunity to toss one, two or three coins in. We went to the Spanish Steps before heading to the Rouge et Noir Hotel.