The Apartment

A little more about our apartment: It's at least 800 years old, although it was used differently back then. The above picture is taken from the entrance, which 800 years ago was part of a street that continued on through, where now you see the window and sink (note the stone arch over the window). To the right of the picture was either an artisan workshop, or perhaps a stable. The area of shelving to the left was an entry into a home. Because Francis lived just down the street from us, as a wild youth he almost certainly would have passed through here, perhaps getting into mischief with his friends, perhaps singing French songs taught him by his mother. Perhaps he leaned against the wall where we now hang our coats. The rounded stone at the bottom end of the shelving on the left is one architectual indicator confirming the age of the walls. Ciao.

Arrival

Buon Giorno! We arrived safely this afternoon, after a full day reaching Florence, a night at the Hotel Paris, a good breakfast in the hotel's 500 year old frescoed-ceiling breakfast room, and a three hour train ride. We were met at the Santa Maria degli Angeli train station by our landlady, Laura, and her children Giorgio and Emma. Laura's a runner. Va bene. We rode a couple of miles up Mount Subasio to Assisi. Above is the view from our apartment door. Our place is, I think, about 800 years old. Stone walls, stone and beam ceilings, quite beautiful. Wine and cheese awaited us. Thinking about tearing up the return tickets. A bit of history: Santa Maria degli Angeli is where Saint Francis lived by a tiny church called the Porziuncola ("small portion"). In the 1700's a Franciscan missionary in California came across a river and named it after this Italian place, and a town grew up there that was aptly (if not concisely) called El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porziuncola (the town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porziuncola). As time went by, people started shortening the name of their town, until it finally got honed down to... "Los Angeles." A couple of other California cities were named after people who grew up within a few hundred yards of our apartment, Santa Clara (Saint Clare) and, of course, San Francisco. Ciao.

The Flight

If all goes well, we'll arrive in Assisi about 49 hours after we leave home, hopefully rested after an overnight stay in Florence. That will be about 5:30 am Tuesday, California time.

Planning II

A week from today we'll be in Italy. Time flies, and so will we.

Planning I

Welcome! Pace e bene! In a couple of weeks, Cheri and I will be in Assisi. Hope to keep you posted. Ciao!

The Path to San Damiano

Those who have enjoyed this blog might also enjoy a novel I wrote that takes place in Northern California, Florence and Assisi.  It's called The Path to San Damiano, and it follows four friends in their search for a stranger who seems quite like Saint Francis.

First published in 2008, it was recently reissued after a rewrite, and is available at Amazon Books and other locations.

Ciao.