Day 15: Assisi, Sun 25°

The Early Bird Gets The Basilica!

Something I learned early on in my travels is that when I am in a beautiful, but busy tourist town it’s to get out early for a look around. Almost always I’ll have the streets to myself anytime up until 9:30. It was 9 o’clock when I took these photos. 

By 11 o’clock there were tour groups in large numbers almost everywhere. Assisi is a beautiful, mediaeval town, but it loses some of its charm when there are too many people in the streets. However, this is to be expected because it’s a major pilgrimage center, just like Rome and Santiago in Spain. Heck, I’m part of the problem,😎. Perugia had some tourists, but mostly it was a working city, and therefore it felt a little more genuine, if that’s the correct word? 


It was really nice this morning to stroll through the cool streets all the way along the length of the city. I am staying just outside one of the gates in a building that is literally part of the city wall. It’s a fairly quiet little corner of the city, and I like the apartment I’m staying in.

That’s the church inside a church that I visited yesterday while walking across the plains from Perugia. I’m not sure why, but I always find a certain fascination in looking back towards where I’ve come from. I think that after 10 years of enjoying walks like this, that I am still kind of amazed at how far one can walk in a day. It really is the ultimate slow travel!

Anyway, first thing this morning was all about visiting the Basilica di San Francesco. This is the famous approach to the Basilica. Unfortunately, there is a stage production going on right in front of the upper Basilica. This means that there are movie trucks parked on this famous walkway. However, I wasn’t going to let this spoil my experience.

The upper basilica is the main church and is on the right. The lower Basilica is straight ahead under the arch. By the way, that’s Perugia in the distance.

You may or may not enjoy going into churches, but this Basilica is really quite amazing! That’s said by someone who’s walked through too many churches to count over the past 48 years. 

The cathedral became recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Construction of the Basilica began in 1228, just two years after Saint Francis’ death. 

You start first in the lower Basilica, which is the oldest part of the cathedral. Because I had the time and also because there was hardly anyone in the Basilica when I started my visit, I went through both areas twice. There’s a lot to take in and the second time around allowed me to focus on areas of interest to me. I was initially under the impression that photography was prohibited, and I followed that protocol until during my second lap I noticed many people taking photographs. So I did too😏

The artwork in the older church is quite amazing!

Particularly this piece behind the alter area. I feel very fortunate to have seen this. 

In the lower crypt Saint Francis’ remains have been placed above a simple, but quite unique altar. His close followers are buried at various points around the alter with special markings on the wall. You’re not allowed to take any pictures in the crypt, and I obviously respected that.  

I then climbed up to the cloisters where there were displays explaining what it takes to become a Franciscan friar. I admire those that can make this sort of commitment for life. After taking some time to read about the required commitments, I decided that I would find it to be a bit beyond my ability. I’m OK with that because I’m pretty happy with the family I have.❤️ I guess you don’t miss what you don’t know.

From here it’s a few short steps into the upper Basilica. It’s here that you read so much about. The famous frescos along all the walls showing many miraculous moments from Saint Francis’s life.

Yes, the murals were amazing, but as always, it’s the hand carved wooden seating that particularly caught my eye.





I took my time departing from the Basilica because I was waiting until 10 o’clock when the Pilgrim welcome centre opened. It’s located just across from the entrance to the lower Basilica. I wanted to get a stamp in my credential, something I was unable to find in Perugia.

I must say that the pilgrim welcome centre puts the experience at the Vatican to shame. People in there were really nice and they even gave me a testimonium for having made it to Assisi! I didn’t really plan on getting a testimonium on this walk, because I have no plan to stay in Rome when I arrive. However, they were so nice about it, and because it looked pretty cool I decided to accept their offer. I will add it to my ever-growing collection at home.🙂. Who knows, perhaps one day my kids or grandchildren will want to hold onto this collection.

As I was walking out past the bar that faces on to the upper basilica I thought to myself that perhaps it’s time for a second breakfast? Great decision! I enjoyed a pistachio cornetto with a very nice cup of tea. Cost be damned! I’m eating very cheaply for lunch and dinner today as well as breakfast tomorrow before I leave.
Afterwords I wandered through town as the large tour groups started to fill the streets. I quickly visited a couple of other historic churches, but nothing compared to the Basilica. Although the front of this one was pretty cool, complete with it’s built in Roman columns.

The inside was a little over done for my taste. Too

much baroque! This one was nice on the outside as well.
I went into this church late yesterday afternoon after the town had pretty much emptied out. The group tours typically stay in accommodations that have easier access far away from these mediaeval cities. This was where Saint Francis was baptized, as I learned upon entering. Like I said before, I probably need to do a little more reading about the places I’m going to on these walks, but I like to discover things as I go.

And that’s about it for today. It’s now almost 15:00 and after some looking around at food options, I decided to buy groceries for tonight. This was mostly precipitated by the fact that I have a nice 375 ml bottle of wine sitting in my fridge that I purchased for dinner last night! I had a very late dinner, and by the time I got around to it it was too late to drink wine before bed. We all have our issues.😂
Tomorrow I finally get underway on a stretch of walking days. I’ve really enjoyed my visits to Gubbio, Perugia, and now Assisi, however, there’s been more zero days over the past week that I’m typically use to. I know it was the only way I could properly see these three cities, but now I’m feeling a bit itchy to get underway again with only one day off in Spoleto before I reach Rome in 11 days. While I like the mediaeval city visits, I really enjoy the long days of walking. Hopefully with good weather! 

I have a decision to make for tomorrow. There are two stage options. The first is to climb and cross Monte Subasio for the views. The other option is to walk a route lower down on Monte Subadio. My body feels totally up for the climb, but my guide book recommends that I not take the higher route if there’s a risk of rain. I can hear the late afternoon thunder not too far away.🤔 I guess I’ll decide in the morning. Whatever I decide, I know there’s lots of climbing ahead in the coming days, so I’ll just take it as it comes. After a few hiccups I’m really beginning to settle nicely into this route! 

Cheers!