Mount Subasio Walk

This past week Assisi had its share of wind, rain and cold, as if Spring was patiently awaiting a chance to arrive.

Gradually, the sun has been gaining an upper hand.

With the weather starting to improve, I set out early yesterday for a hike on Mount Subasio. With the clocks changing last Sunday, it was still dark passing through town and not a soul was in sight. The road starting up Subasio was empty as well, which made for some good solitary walking. Keeping a good pace, I arrived at the Eremo delle Carceri in less than an hour.
The Eremo has been a sacred place since well before the time of Saint Francis. Set in a dense forest on the side of the mountain, it's where he and his followers used to go for quiet and prayer. Over the centuries, the hermitage there has been added onto, although it is still a very simple and peaceful structure.

Leaving behind my silent trek for a place of silence, I passed through the entry gate and approached the hermitage.

Then continued down a walkway to where my first encounter of the day was with one of the friars. 

No picture taking is allowed inside. However, I entered the small church there just before morning prayers and a Mass were to begin. The church is literally built into the side of the mountain. I sat next to  a rock cropping jutting into the nave. I stayed for the services, a "pellegrino con uno zaino" sharing a special experience with three friars and seven nuns.
Back to hiking, the morning was cold and cloudy, rather good conditions for an uphill trek. Some wind. With the clouds shifting about, occasionally it was possible to see who else was out on the mountain.

Higher up, the wind picked up and the clouds streamed through in bunches. One minute the visibility might be fifty yards, the next fifty miles. After a couple of hours, finding the summit during an in-cloud spell was a bit easier when markers could be seen.

Well, barely seen. It's the little mound to the right of center in the picture.
Finally came the well marked summit, with great views of clouds in every direction.

Having been there many times before, including in worse conditions, it was hardly disappointing, especially since, starting back, the clouds swiftly moved on, opening up some fine vistas.

Including distant mountains.

After a very enjoyable downhill stroll, I approached the Eremo, where the morning's silence had given way to the arrival of many visitors. The entry gate can be seen just beyond the vehicles.

One nice thing about Italy is that even inappropriate things, like graffiti, can have a charming side. Further down the road toward Assisi, someone defaced this stone wall with a message for all who might notice, "Sei bellissima" or "You are very beautiful."

Hopefully not intended for just one person….
A good hike is best followed by a good meal. A favorite place in town for a wood-fired pizza margherita is the I Monaci restaurant, a pleasant setting for dining.

With excellent pizzas.

Ciao.

Easter in Assisi

In recent days tens of thousands of visitors have arrived in Assisi in anticipation of Easter Sunday. They have been touring the larger churches, keeping shops and restaurants busy and crowding the main  roads through town to the chagrin of those daring enough to drive them. Despite a spell of cold weather, families and tour groups and scout troops could be found outdoors enjoying the intermittent sunshine and the anticipation of an important event. On Good Friday, one scout troop convened on the piazza in front of the Basilica of Saint Clare.

That morning I had joined a few hundred locals and visitors in the "Cristo Morto" procession from the Cathedral of Saint Rufino to the Basilica of Saint Francis, stopping at convents along the way to allow the nuns to venerate Christ, whose image, from a centuries old crucifix, was born through the streets.

Local confraternities help facilitate many feast day and holy day events through the year.

On Saturday the crowds continued to grow.

On Saturday evening I started across town early for the 10:00 p.m. Vigil Mass at the small Church of Santa Margherita, where Franciscans have been celebrating Easter since the Thirteenth Century. I ran into an old friend, Massimo, along the way. From the piazza in front of Santa Margherita, there's a fine view of the great Basilica of Saint Francis, and on this cold and quiet night one could anticipate the approaching Easter celebration.

Turning to Santa Margherita, just one visitor had arrived.

Eventually, the church filled with close to seventy people, mostly locals, for a beautiful celebration. Afterwards, midnight approaching, a bright moon and the joyful sounds of church bells made for a special walk back through town.

Near noon on Easter Sunday a long line of visitors had formed waiting to enter the Basilica of Saint Francis.

The morning service at Santa Margherita had ended, but the Easter decorations were still in place.

Of course, the celebrating extended into the streets, where one could readily access good pastry shops.

The bright Easter choices were colorful.

And numerous.

And delightful. Which would you choose?

Buona Pasqua!

Returning to Assisi and the Church of Santo Stefano

It's good to be back in Assisi. My twenty-six hour trip from California went smoothly, with the last two legs being an Alitalia flight from New York's JFK to Rome's Fiumicino Airport, followed by a short flight from Fiumicino to Sant'Egidio, about seven miles from Assisi. Fiumicino can be challenging to navigate, but all went smoothly, as transferring passengers were sent directly to a bus and transported to the local flights terminal. From there, after boarding a propeller plane and waiting behind a line of departing jets, it was a half hour flight before landing at the Sant'Egidio airport, where the runway was empty.

Once settled back in town, I headed down through the Piazza del Comune to a favorite bar/restaurant, poplar among locals, Pizzeria Otello. It's a great place to go after hiking. Also, they consistently accommodate my requests for "molto pane" (lots of bread) to go with orders of lasagna and "vino rosso della casa" (red house wine). Still catching up on sleep.

Assisi is preparing for Easter, just a few days away. Took some pictures on an afternoon walk. One view of town.

Spring is here, but there's snow atop Mount Subasio. A trace of it was visible from the Piazza del Comune, looking past the cupola of the Cathedral of San Rufino.

One need not leave town to undertake uphill climbs.

The columns of the former Temple of Minerva haven't changed much since last year. Or, for that matter, for the past two thousand and forty years or so.

The pastry shops are ready for Easter.

I stopped by the Church of Santo Stefano, built in the year 1166, not many years before the birth of Saint Francis. The facade of this church has changed little over eight centuries; this basically is what Francis would have seen. The church was built by and for the working people of Assisi, plain but (clearly) good construction.

The inside has been carefully remodeled, but retains much of the original materials, design and spirit. In the front below is the baptismal font.

A nice place to sit on a sunny day is the stone wall that winds above Santo Stefano. Legend has it that the evening Saint Francis passed from this life to the next, the bells of Santo Stefano, seen in the center, spontaneously began to ring.

Ciao.