Perugia & Assisi

    On the Thursday following my class trip to San Gimignano on Wednesday, I had the privilege of visiting Perugia and then Assisi on Friday.  It took a little over an hour to get to Perugia from Siena on our own private bus.  Then, as soon as we had gotten there and dropped off our luggage in the hotel, we got a guided tour of the cities most important features.  We started in this ancient fortress (below photo) which used to serve in the protection of the city.  Nowadays, it serves as a sort of underground sidewalk that people walk through.  There are escalators inside it and everything!  From there, we walked up to the city center where Perugia's city hall, main piazza, and main Duomo (cathedral) are located.  

  

Below: Exterior of the fortress which comprises part of the ancient city wall.

Entrance to Perugia's city hall or Palazzo Comunale in Italian.

The gryphon & lion which are regarded as the symbols of the city.

Perugia's Fontana Maggiore with the Duomo in the background.

Detail of the above fountain

Courtyard before you enter the Duomo

Interior of Perugia's Duomo

Back of the Duomo

Looking out over Perugia and the Umbrian landscape

The University in Perugia where foreign students study.  This is where Amanda Knox went to classes

    After spending the night in a hotel in Perugia, we woke up early and took our private tour bus to Assisi, which was less than a half an hour away from Perugia.  Assisi is situated on a hillside overlooking a beautiful and green valley.  Every town and city in Italy has a plethora of churches, but in  Assisi I felt like there was a church or Basilica around every corner!  And every one of them are dedicated in some way to St. Francis, the most famous person to come out of Assisi.  In church as a young girl, I knew of St. Francis because of St. Francis of Assisi Day where we brought in our pets to church to be blessed.  In Assisi, I quickly learned that St. Francis is known for far more than just being a friend to animals.  He was known as someone who criticized the excess of the Catholic church and practiced poverty, even though he came from a very wealthy family.  We saw lots of monks there, and our guide told us that true Franciscan monks were ones who walked around in rags with no shoes on, just like St. Francis.  In the below photograph, you can see the Basilica of St. Francis.  In some ways, as our guide was telling us, this Basilica is more important to some Catholics than St. Peter's Basilica.  The reason for this is that St. Peter's has the potential to divide people if they don't agree with the decisions of the Catholic Church.  The Basilica of St. Francis, on the other hand, has always brought people together because of how beloved St. Francis is.  

Below: The valley that Assisi overlooks.  As we walked up higher up the hillside in Assisi, the view became even more spectacular.

Entering Assisi's city center through one of the city's porte.

Below: The parking lot where pilgrims used to park their donkeys before going inside the Basilica.  The stones used on the ground are from all over the world.

Nuns!

Interior of the lower basilica of Basilica di San Francesco

Courtyard between the upper & lower basilica.  This is also where the gift shop is located.

The first thing that you see as you exit the upper basilica.  Pax means peace

Looking up at the facade of the upper basilica.

Basilica of Santa Chiara

    Looking up at the Castle Rocca Maggiore which sits on the top of the hill overlooking Assisi and the two valleys on either side of it.  It used to be a military installation, but it is now a museum.  During my free time, I hiked up to the top of this hill with a bunch of my friends and explored this castle.  Unfortunately, my camera battery had died, and so this was the last picture in Assisi that I managed to take.  All I can say is that the view from the top of that castle was one of the most amazing views I've ever see in my life.