My Assisi
I have lived in the historic centre of Assisi since 1994.
Before that I lived outside the walls.
Being in Assisi, breathing its history and beauty, is an experience that fills me with emotion.
I believe that you never stop discovering things about such an extraordinary place; it is a source of continual surprise and amazement.
I love the colours of Assisi’s stone, the light at dawn and sunset, the flowers on the windows, the narrow alleyways.
I like it in winter, when it is silent and majestic; in spring when it comes alive with festivity and new scents fill the air; on summer evenings when it resounds with voices and geraniums colour the balconies; and in autumn when the pink stone is tinged with ochre and orange.
I like walking around.
Breathing in its past. Living its present.
There are places that are close to my heart, linked to childhood memories, others that I discovered through my children when they were young: the Rocca Maggiore (main fortress) and the infamous brigand Cinicchio with his terrible misdeeds appeared in Ludovico and Caterina’s bedtime stories for years...
There are places that are close to my heart, linked to childhood memories, others that I discovered through my children when they were young: the Rocca Maggiore (main fortress) and the infamous brigand Cinicchio with his terrible misdeeds appeared in Ludovico and Caterina’s bedtime stories for years...
Then there are spots that I particularly love and where I sometimes long to return.
The Fonti di Mojano (fountains), the Roman Amphitheatre, the Church of San Giacomo de Muro Rupto, the narrow alleyways of Santa Rosa, the Orto degli Aghi (Garden of the Needles), the little square of Santa Margherita, the Church of Santo Stefano, the Rocchicciola (small fortress), the Cascatelle (little waterfalls), the hermitage of Carceri, Mount Subasio, San Damiano, the Abbey of San Masseo.
The Basilica of San Francesco, with Giotto's series of frescoes, is a place which stirs the soul.
The Upper Church still bears the scars of the 1997 earthquake.
Anyone who was there on that day, as I was, will never forget it.
For a few years now, from the lawn outside the entrance to the Upper Basilica, it has been possible to walk down through the woods (bosco) to the Church of Santa Croce and the Ponte dei Galli (bridge).
This path though the Bosco di San Francesco is full of suggestion and adventure for adults and children alike.
The Diocesan Museum and the Crypt of San Rufino with its precious treasures have been a recent find.
Also, the Bell Tower of the Cathedral, the Roman Forum, the Domus ...
One year, for my birthday, I was given a guided tour of the Domus of Properzio, which is located under the apse of the Church of the Vescovado.
I could not believe my eyes at such beauty.
This is how to truly experience Assisi, at a slow pace.
With a guidebook in hand, but just as happy to wander wherever the fancy takes you.
Let Assisi cast its spell; its many enchantments will make you rediscover yourself, and if you have done well and left some white pebbles behind you along the way, you are sure to want to find your way back here again... and again...
Before that I lived outside the walls.
Being in Assisi, breathing its history and beauty, is an experience that fills me with emotion.
I believe that you never stop discovering things about such an extraordinary place; it is a source of continual surprise and amazement.
I love the colours of Assisi’s stone, the light at dawn and sunset, the flowers on the windows, the narrow alleyways.
I like it in winter, when it is silent and majestic; in spring when it comes alive with festivity and new scents fill the air; on summer evenings when it resounds with voices and geraniums colour the balconies; and in autumn when the pink stone is tinged with ochre and orange.
I like walking around.
Breathing in its past. Living its present.
There are places that are close to my heart, linked to childhood memories, others that I discovered through my children when they were young: the Rocca Maggiore (main fortress) and the infamous brigand Cinicchio with his terrible misdeeds appeared in Ludovico and Caterina’s bedtime stories for years...
There are places that are close to my heart, linked to childhood memories, others that I discovered through my children when they were young: the Rocca Maggiore (main fortress) and the infamous brigand Cinicchio with his terrible misdeeds appeared in Ludovico and Caterina’s bedtime stories for years...
Then there are spots that I particularly love and where I sometimes long to return.
The Fonti di Mojano (fountains), the Roman Amphitheatre, the Church of San Giacomo de Muro Rupto, the narrow alleyways of Santa Rosa, the Orto degli Aghi (Garden of the Needles), the little square of Santa Margherita, the Church of Santo Stefano, the Rocchicciola (small fortress), the Cascatelle (little waterfalls), the hermitage of Carceri, Mount Subasio, San Damiano, the Abbey of San Masseo.
The Basilica of San Francesco, with Giotto's series of frescoes, is a place which stirs the soul.
The Upper Church still bears the scars of the 1997 earthquake.
Anyone who was there on that day, as I was, will never forget it.
For a few years now, from the lawn outside the entrance to the Upper Basilica, it has been possible to walk down through the woods (bosco) to the Church of Santa Croce and the Ponte dei Galli (bridge).
This path though the Bosco di San Francesco is full of suggestion and adventure for adults and children alike.
The Diocesan Museum and the Crypt of San Rufino with its precious treasures have been a recent find.
Also, the Bell Tower of the Cathedral, the Roman Forum, the Domus ...
One year, for my birthday, I was given a guided tour of the Domus of Properzio, which is located under the apse of the Church of the Vescovado.
I could not believe my eyes at such beauty.
This is how to truly experience Assisi, at a slow pace.
With a guidebook in hand, but just as happy to wander wherever the fancy takes you.
Let Assisi cast its spell; its many enchantments will make you rediscover yourself, and if you have done well and left some white pebbles behind you along the way, you are sure to want to find your way back here again... and again...
