Assissi

Today we had a long day traveling around Assisi, but we learned a ton. We had a local and knowledgeable guide, Guisseppe, show us around and teach us about the area.

Assisi, and Spoleto where we have been staying, are part of Umbrian Italy. This area is very mountainous and was once completely water and swamp land. Long ago, people would build on top of the mountains and be overlooking valleys that were filled with water. Then, the Romans figured out that they could use technology to rid the area of the water and they built canals to get the water out. Now, the beautiful land is very fertile and used to grow many things, including the olives that are used to make olive oil. They are also completely built on without any water in sight.. it's incredible!

Assissi is a medieval town and is incredibly old, but very quaint. One of my favorites so far. It is nestled in the mountains and is full of history. While we were there, we saw the old amphitheater, which is now used as apartments (really cool), and we also saw several important churches. First, we learned about St. Claire and her importance during the time. The remains of St. Claire's body are still on display in the church. We also learned about St. Francis today and visited the Basilica di San Francesco. The Basilica of St. Francis is absolutely incredible... it is a HUGE church that sits on a mountaintop in Assissi. The inside is completely painted with frescoes depicting scenes from St. Francis's life and stories from the Bible. Fun facts - Assissi is a sister city if San Francisco because of St. Francis, also called San Francesco. Get it? Also, St. Francis was the creator of nativity scenes. Before him, we did not have mangers on display. There are tons of them in Assissi that are still up from Christmas time.

Tomorrow, we will travel to Siena. Our journey is shockingly nearing its end, but we have so many things to do and learn before then. Above are pictures from today - all of us in front of the Basilica di San Francesco and a picture of the Basilica from afar.