Exploring the town of St Francis

My Eurailpass only has a few days left on it (out of 61 days!) Took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento back to Naples, waving good-bye to Sorrento and Pompeii. From Naples rode to Rome, then to Florence, then to Assisi, home of St Francis, located in the Hill Town\\Umbria section of Italy. From the train station, caught the bus up the hill into town. I showed the bus driver my little map indicating where the Ostello (Hostel) was and he nodded, indicating he knew where it was. I have been amazingly lucky in finding these hostels, given my absolutely abysmal sense of direction. I have found many by hook or crook, magically running into people who know the way, bus drivers who drop me off at the correct stop and pantomime the next bus to take or way to walk.

Anyway, this hostel was located just down the hill from the Basilica of St Francis, in a field surrounded by olive trees. A simple place St Francis himself might have enjoyed.

Frances lived in Assisi around the year 1200. His story reminds me of Buddha's - he was born into a wealthy family, then around age 20 renounced his wealth after meditating on a cross and experiencing a conversion to Christianity. In a famous episode of his life, he gave everything back to his father, including even his clothes. After that, he wore only a simple brown robe. (still available for the public to see, with its many patches, it is located in the Basilica relics room.) He tied the robe with three knots indicating poverty, chastity and obediance. You can still see monks from the Order of St Francis dressed in these robes today.

Anyway, he lived a life of example and advocated simplicity. I like his message: love, sensitivity to the environment, simple living, de-emphasizing the accumulation of possessions. Similar to the Quaker message.

The evening I arrived in Assisi I had an hour of daylight left so I walked up to the Basilica and saw Francis' tomb and the wonderful Giotto frescoes depicting his life. Listened for a while to a service in the church. When I came out of the church it was beautifully flood-lit. However, the rest of the town was fairly dark. I began walking back down to the hostel and soon it was absolutely, pitch dark. (The hostel was down a dark long road of fields with no lighting.) I thought twice about it and walked back up into town and asked a taxi driver to give me a ride back down. Better safe than sorry!

That night I read up on St Francis' life and learned about St Clare, a woman who followed Francis and founded the Order of the Poor Clares. The next day I took a bus to the very top of the town and made my way back down through the streets. Assisi is a town of mixed history - the Romans lived here long before Francis. On the way through the town I saw a cirular neighborhood built around a Roman Arena, the Church of San Rufino, where Francis was baptised, the Church of St Clare with the cross Francis had gazed upon, St Stefano, a wonderful simple church, built not with an architect, but by stone masons who put together the most basic design. The church is surrounded by fig, cypress and walnut trees, very quiet and deserted and small. It is said that on the day St Francis died, the church bell at St Stefano mysteriously rang. I sat in the church for a bit and listened to the birds chirping outside (descendents of the birds St Francis preached to?) I felt connected back to the Quaker meeting house in Sandwich, New Hampshire, where I sat with my family before beginning this trip.

Also saw the Temple of Minerva, which existed way before Francis came on the scene. In that temple, which now has a church built inside it, you can still see the slabs of marble where the Romans made animal sacrifices to their gods, and the drains where the blood ran out. Behind the marble slabs are statues of Peter and Paul - an odd juxtipositon.

I walked down the Via San Francesco, where thousands of pilgrims have walked before me, on their way to St Francis' Basilica. Visited the church again, this time seeing the upper basilica and the gift shop. Since it is the Jubilee Year, it was very crowded with pilgrims.

Finally, I visited the Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is a huge church with no personality built around the tiny and wonderful 'porziuncola,' or small portion - a tiny fixer-upper chapel which was given to the Franciscan Order by the Pope when the Pope gave Francis his blessing (thus assuring Francis wouldn't be persecuted as a heretic. You can see this declaration in the Relics Room at the Basilica.) This chapel is tiny. People have reported sightings of St Francis there. I must confess, I felt my skin literally crawl a little when I went in there. It is located not far away from the spot where St Francis died.

On to Venice!