"Assisi , A Quaint Town Amongt The Hills " a Assisi Travel Page by Mikebb

We arrived in Assisi mid afternoon on the second day of the festival celebrating St Francis, in one way we were very lucky however the downturn was all roads were closed to traffic and our tour bus had to park outside the town centre. We had been advised to pack an overnight bag so we would not have to drag our luggage up the steep hill into the centre of town.
The Festival must be the annual highlight of the town, it was very crowded, stalls lined the streets selling everything from sweets to baby clothing to religious items. Children were running around everywhere with smiles on their faces as though it was Christmas.

The town is very hilly and has small, winding streets which have very old buildings, most buildings are on several levels and have character. The afternoon we were there it had been raining, the streets and buildings were wet as we walked along Via San Francesco towards the Church of Saint Francis, occassionally there was a gap in the housing and we could get a view of the beautiful countryside. We did not have a map but just followed the people trail as all were heading to the church.

As we walked there were great photo opportunities and we had to take our photos in poor light as we were leaving early the next morning. The approach to the Church is very beautiful combining old buildings with lush flora on the hill and the country landscape down in the valley. It would have been magnificent on a fine sunny day.

We reached the Church and looked through the upper level, the shop selling religious items and then walked down to the lower level where a Mass celebrating St Francis was in progress. We tried to enter the crowded service but entry was prohibited, I think you had to be an invited guest. From my glimpse through the door it looked like a Bishop or Cardinal was conducting the service.