Assisi Walking Adventure Guide

For those who have enjoyed reading about Assisi, Mount Subasio and Umbria, I have recently published an ebook entitled Assisi Walking Adventure Guide.

It can be downloaded for free at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/217714.

Anyone considering a trip to Assisi may find it quite useful.  Whether you're headed to Italy, or just dreaming about it, buon viaggio!

Assisi Diary - Day 44 - Arrivederci

Tomorrow begins the long trip home, a ride to Rome, a following day flight to Washington D.C., then on to California.  About a 40 hour trek, door to door.

Thanks for following my travels; hope you enjoyed the words and pictures about Umbria. 

Pace e bene.

Arrivederci e ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 43 - Mountain Views

Today was an ideal day for hiking on Subasio, crisp and cool early, with a gentle wind higher up when the sun started warming.  Visbility was excellent; I would guess about 100 miles looking at the distant Apennines.  One could see individual houses across the valley about ten miles away.  I kept a good pace and, starting at Porta Cappuccini, reached the summit in about two hours and fifteen minutes.  Along the way I encountered three horses "outside the fence", enjoying the gourmet growth along the side of the dirt road.  They each eyed me warily then, without prompting, quickly made their way back through a break in the fence, as if not wanting to be held responsible for being where they weren't supposed to be.
From the summit I made my way over to the largest sinkhole, Mortaro Grande, which can be seen here from a distance.

Here's a closer look at the inside.

From there I continued along high on the mountain, enjoying distant views.  Bettona is on the first rise across the valley; Assisi is just out of sight below to the right; Rome is just over the distant horizon.

Came across some fair areas of wildflowers.

Some quite colorful.

The trail down was the one I had ascended several years ago on my first Subasio climb.  Many hikes later it is no less wonderful and no less an adventure.  There is so much to explore on the mountain, both in natural beauty and historical sites, that one could spend a year wandering here and not tire of it. 

Ciao.







Assisi Diary - Day 42 - Odds and Ends

Things are busy around town in preparation for today's opening of Calendimaggio.  The Piazza del Comune will be cordoned off for the main events.  Crossbow targets have been set up at the end of the piazza, stands have been assembled and those restaurants with outdoor seating have moved indoors to provide more room.

Most Assisi streets are narrow and one-way.  If urban planners had any forsight about automobiles during Roman times or the Middle Ages, they didn't follow through.  Here's what happens when a local bus tries to get by a construction truck.

With a little coaxing, and folding in the passenger side mirror, the driver made it through without a scratch.

Went to mass in Santa Maria degli Angeli this morning.  It's amazing the numbers of pilgrims around the world who travel to visit the Porziuncola.  Also amazing is the numbers of religious orders in and around Assisi.

By the way, in writing I've often used the words "monastero" and "convento".  In the U.S. one typically thinks of monasteries as being for monks, convents for nuns.  However, in Italy typically a "convento" will be home to Franciscans or Dominicans, while a "monastero" will be home to Benedictines, Carthusians or Cistercians.  One may be tempted to think that Assisi would be simply filled with Franciscans, but that would be forgetting that this region had many large Benedictine monasteries before and during the time of Francis.

And this sunny afternoon, it was decision time.

Chocolate and coffee prevail, again.

A few more flowers.

  Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 41 - San Silvestro

Took a long walk today around Subasio to see the Abbey of San Silvestro, which sits well up above the town of Collepino.  Much of the morning was foggy, which made for good hiking and interesting trails.

After about a three hour walk over diverse roads and trails I came upon the church, which has an origin of being a hermitage founded by Saint Benedict in the year 523.  In 1025, the then abbot, who became Saint Romuald, dedicated a church there to Saint Sylvester.  Over time much of the church was destroyed, but was eventually restored.

Apparently the apse is the original, going back to the 11th Century or earlier.

In the interior of the apse are the remains of a 15th Century fresco of the Madonna and Child Enthroned.  Interestingly, a 3rd Century Roman sarcophagus was used as the altar.

The grounds currently are nicely cared for by a group of nuns calling themselves The Little Sisters of Mary.

My return route gave me an opportunity to revisit Gabbiano Vecchio, the abandoned town deep in the forest that I wrote about a few days ago.

Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 40 - San Quirico and Decorative Doorknockers

Attended mass at the Monastero delle Clarisse di San Quirico (convent of Poor Clares) this morning.  The monastery is 15th Century, although the interior of the church is clearly more recent. (Saint Quirico was a child, martyred with his mother, in the year 304.)

Since today has been spent around town, thought I'd have some fun posting some of Assisi's more illustrious doorknockers.  Many are nicely designed and functional, similar to this one.

However, some might make you think twice before knocking.

Some have ancient origins.  And why go Etruscan when you can have Egyptian?

Wonder if this is the home of a hair stylist?

Time to move on to the top three.  In third place, for its pleasant and welcoming demeanor, is this friendly and unassuming work.

Second place goes to the other extreme.  Not exactly pleasant, welcoming, friendly or unassuming, but you have to be impressed by a doorknocker that looks you straight in the eye.  Someone put a lot of work into this, probably a long time ago.

Furthermore, it has a twin.

Okay.  Time to move on to #1.  First, I'll disclose that I found the winner outside of the gates of Assisi in Santa Maria degli Angeli.  This may elicit a protest from the owner of second place Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but someone was bound to knock my choices.  In any event, #1 really deserves a hand.

Of all the doorknockers, this one is perhaps the most tempting to draw back and follow through with a few good raps.  Just what doorknockers are for.

Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 39 - Santa Croce and Flowers

Went to mass this morning at the Monastero di Santa Croce delle Suore Tedesche, a convent of German Capuchin Poor Clare nuns.  I've long admired the pretty, quiet walkway, Via Santa Croce, that extends along the upper part of Assisi, then down under an archway past this convent.  The church has an open section and a cloistered section. 

There's a shrine with flowers where the stairs begin winding back down to town.

After mentioning recently how there seems fewer wildflowers than usual on Subasio this spring, yesterday's trek included miles of country roads in full bloom.

Flowers everywhere.

In pretty combinations.

Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 38 - Gabbiano Vecchio

If one looks at a highly detailed map of Umbria, between the town of Spello and Monte Subasio, where the elevation starts to climb but is still well below the treeline, in a deeply forested area, one may find the words "Gabbiano Vecchio".  A long time ago there was a settlement there, just large enough to have it's own small church, la Chiesetta di Sant' Antonio, dedicated to Saint Anthony.  Not far away from Gabbiano Vecchio, or "Old Gull", is a fountain, Fonte Sermattei, from which water still flows.  But Gabbiano Vecchio was abandoned long ago.  The forest reclaimed the land and anyone hiking nearby could easily miss what remains there.  There are no nearby signs and barely more than a path through the brush off a dirt road for anyone seeking to explore.

With good weather I set off early this morning to look for Gabbiano Vecchio, taking a route past the old Abbazia di San Benedetto, a center of Benedictine life during the time of Francis and much earlier.

Then through the woods past Sasso Rosso, where Clare spent her childhood summers.  Little remains of the castle that stood here eight centuries ago, but there are some signs, like this small section of wall.

Then it was down through the forest, by an area with the reassuring name of Passo del Lupo (Pass of the Wolf).  The trail was steep in places, fairly level in others, with occasional views, generally good for walking.  Although, as time passed, I became concerned about possibly missing my intended destination.  Then came a view through the trees.

I continued on the trail until coming to a dirt road that allowed for doubling back, then found a bit of a path into Gabbiano Vecchio.

Here is what is left of a couple of houses.

Then there is the Chiesetta di Sant'Antonio.

The real treasures are inside.  This is the altar wall.

A closer view of Saint Anthony.

A window on the back wall.  Knowing little about fresco techniques, at best I can say the design work is painted on.

Unfortunately, the roof is badly damaged.  Above one can see some interior decoration, some exterior roofing, and some sky.

Thus far I haven't found much on the history of Gabbiano Vecchio or the Chiesetta.  They are mentioned in some hiking publications for Mount Subasio.  Will look forward to doing research.

Not far away is Fonte Sermattei, one of Subasio's many water sources.

I followed old dirt roads to gravel roads and eventually to paved roads to make my way back to Assisi.  After a while, good signage made getting lost unlikely.

Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 37 - Subasio Sculptures and Wildflowers

Among the interesting sights on Subasio are works by the Italian sculptor Fiorenzo Bacci.  One of them sits high on the mountain and is called "Frate Vento", or "Brother Wind".

A second one is set in Fonte Bregno, and is called "Sora Acqua", or "Sister Water"".

While the late Spring seems to have lessened the numbers of wildflowers on Subasio this year, there are still thousands of them.

Of varying bright colors.

Another pleasant thing about Subasio is that one can be walking or driving along and suddenly come across a nice place for a picnic.  It's as if somehow there are people whose job it is to find and prepare idyllic spots for weary travelers to stop and enjoy their lunches.  This one is close by the Eremo.

It's not uncommon to see families dining well at these pretty locations, enjoying the food and the views.

In town today much work is underway in preparation for the Calendimaggio celebrations.  Will have pictures in the days ahead.

Ciao.

Assisi Diary - Day 36 - Back on Subasio

Four days ago Mount Subasio was bitter cold, with strong gusts and clouds so dense the visibility dropped to about ten yards.  Today, it may as well have been four months later rather than four days, with June-like weather replacing the February-like conditions.  This was an excellent day for hiking and exploring.
I set out a little before 6:00 a.m., passed the Eremo in less than an hour and was above the tree line not long after.  Left the main dirt road to search for a trail I had been hoping to follow earlier in the week.  This led to some cross-country uphill meadow walking with magnificent views.  Eventually I found the trail.  Most of Subasio's park trails are well marked.

After a while I came upon a water trough, as horses, cattle and sheep all graze on parts of the mountain.

Finding the summit was substantially easier than on Monday.  Here's the marker, placed there by the "Friend's of the Mountain Association"

Now for some exploring.  I had heard that Subasio has sinkholes that in centuries past were packed with snow to form ice for use in the summer.  My destination, not very far from the summit but off the main path, was the "Mortaro Grande" or "Big Sinkhole." (Hope you can stand the suspense.)  Actually, I wasn't sure what to expect.  But, as it turned out, the Mortaro Grande would have lived up to its billing, if it had had one.  An approach view to build some anticipation.

Drawing closer and looking in.

At last, a view of the very deep bottom.

I didn't take the steep makeshift trail to the bottom, not wanting to disturb the not-so-natural rock formations set in place by persons seeking the noteriety of having their names spelled out in stone at the base of the Big Sinkhole.  Besides, it reminded me of the kind of place Princess Buttercup and Wesley might have fallen into in The Princess Bride.

Plenty of wonderful views from high up today.

After the sinkhole I headed in a more southerly direction down to Fonte Bregno and a trail that follows near the treeline in the direction of Assisi.  In places the trail ran next to barbed wire fences, necessitating some caution to avoid snags.

However, after a while, this trail too offered great views.  Colle San Rufino is in the distance.

 At one point there is a cross on a high rock outcropping.  Assisi can be seen down to the right.

From there the trail descended in the direction of the Eremo. 

Having encountered no other hikers for over six hours, I knew the quiet was about to end.  Below the Eremo would be groups and individuals walking up from or back down to Assisi.  Nevertheless, seeing many cheerful (or parched and tired) pilgrims was nice, too, a good way to finish a fine day on the mountain.

Ciao.