Assisi Visitor

Simone Weil visited Assisi in 1937.

“When I got to Assisi, Milan, Florence, Rome and all the rest completely disappeared from my memory, so captivated was I by the gentle landscape, so miraculously evangelical and Franciscan, by the delightful churches, by a wealth of happy memories and by those noble examples of humanity- the Umbrian country folk, rich in beauty, physical strength, joy and kindness.

Little had I dreamt such a marvelous place existed. I would have stayed for the rest of my life – if only women were accepted - at the tiny monastery of the Carceri, an hour and fourteen minutes walk up the mountainside from Assisi. No more heavenly and tranquil sight exists than Umbria as seen from up there. Saint Francis certainly knew how to choose the most ravishing spots to practice poverty: He was far from being an ascetic….”
- Simone Weil

The Eremo delle Carceri.

View from the Eremo.

Assisi, looking up from in front of the Basilica of Saint Francis to the small Church of Santa Margherita

Ciao.