I enjoy Assisi. I can relax; I can learn about Francis and Claire; I can eat and sleep when I want; I can take photos to my heart’s content; I can sit on the piazza drinking coffee and watch people. Nice!

Here are some various photos from my iPhone. I can’t access my Nikon photos until I return home.

The town is small and clean. Assisi is like a Swiss village where homeowners and shopkeepers hourly sweep the street in front of them. Stone streets. Stone piazzas. Stone shops. Stone restaurants. Stone walls. Stone convents and monasteries. Stone churches. Stone everywhere.

As you can tell, the Basilica of St Francis, the Lower and the Upper dominate one end of town. When I led students here in 1998 (?), we could only visit the Lower Basilica due to the September 26, 1997 earthquake. On this trip, the entire Basilica is open. Late-medieval and Renaissance Italy’s most famous artists contributed to this Basilica. Breathtaking!

Since it has rained off-and-on during my stay, some of my photos become “artsy” again.

Although it is easier with my Nikon, I am able to get some photos of local individuals. Despite letting me take his photo, he said “Don’t take my soul with the photo.” I think he was kidding. I watched the fellows laying stone for 2-3 minutes. Real Pros. The older fellow next to wine store is cutting up boxes. Grandpa and the grandson with two dogs, must be a local!

How many times has he walked up this stone street?

Then there are the visitors. As I return from walking 2-miles downhill to Bascilica Santa Maria Degli Angeli ( where Francis rebuilt the Church Poriziuncola and later died), I count 15 tour buses parked in a lot. Yikes! The tour groups seem to appear about 10AM and leave around 6PM unless they stay in Assisi for dinner. There are hotels and other accommodations in this hillside town, but I’m sure there are not enough accommodations for all the daily visitors.

I’m even able to get some photos of the friars and sisters. In the group photo, the tallest friar with a long reach said “ Let me take the photo.” Nice!

I hope that she is taking the second cone to a friend!

Something important?

I’ve included some exterior and interior church photos. Some churches allowed photos; some churches prohibited photos. I’ve snagged some of the famous ones from the internet.

Finally, I’ve included some photos of St. Francis. Because my garden handless St. Francis statue became headless this past winter, I purchased a new statue. Now I have some photos from the real Assisi to go with it. I could even get a streetlight with St Francis, the Pope Francis, and St. Claire, to light the back yard!