Spoleto and Assisi

Spoleto and Assisi are two Umbrian hill towns, the former not really that well known, the latter famous because it was the home of St. Francis. It was a cold, rainy day just after the solstice and daylight precious, but off I went with some students and their parents. Those parents will be subject of a story later in the post.

Ponte di Torre! I knew I wanted to see this aqueduct, but just like many things this fall, seeing it took my breath away.

You can walk across the backside of the aqueduct.

Umbria is Italy's only landlocked province and the Apennines form the heart of this hilly area.

I now understand how aqueducts work. The water flows in the channel at the top. Who knew?

The other major sight is the Duomo (isn't that the case in every Italian city?) in Spoleto.

The stairs leading down to the Duomo were one of the many surprises. For some reason, I just found that the grand descent, instead of a usual ascent, with the stairs becoming wider as you step down into the gorgeous piazza was just fantastic.

The fresco in the apse of the Spoleto Duomo.

Another surprise. Looking up, which is always a good habit to get into here in Italy, I saw this bird painted inside the cupola of the Duomo.

Ok, so now the parent story. As you know, this fall, I've let students come along on my "Chenventures" as they call them. This trip, since it took place the first week of the Christmas break, some kids asked if they could come along and bring their parents. So, I had four kids bring their parents and siblings along. NEVER AGAIN. One family was never happy with the slower pace and so was always moving ahead asking me where to go next. In Spoleto, one mother trailed behind and didn't see that we had ducked into a pizzeria and we spent an hour looking for her whereas she had proceeded down the the train station. In Assisi, one mother and daughter came out of the bathroom (or whatever store they were shopping in) and didn't look inside the church that was in front of them and they too went down to the McDonald's by the train station to wait us out. In neither case did the mothers CALL their children to ask where we were. The 55 kids of SYA Italy can always manage to keep themselves in a group. Their parents? Another story.

Here are three students (the two girls with their backs to us had wandering Mom's) asking the Spoleto police if they had seen a lost Mom.

Now onto Assisi. At the top of town there is one neighborhood that built itself around an ancient Roman amphitheater as seen by the elliptical street. Someone's backyard IS the amphitheater itself!

Here is the baptistry in which St. Francis himself was baptized. It is still used to baptize children of the town of Assisi.

More flying buttresses (I just like saying it) attached to the Chiesa St. Chiara.

A beautiful stairway in Assisi at dusk.

The Chiesa San Francesco or the church of St. Francis at night.

The life size nativity scene on the front lawn of the Chiesa San Francesco. Now that's how you do a nativity scene!

Inside the upper nave of the Chiesa San Francesco with fresco depicting the life of St. Francis.

In this scene, St. Francis sheds himself of his worldly goods and clothes and gives them to his father. He preached a life of obedience, poverty and chastity. The Franciscan existence treated every culture and creature with equal respect. The brothers slept in fields, begged for food and enjoyed a life of non-materialism.

A ceremony in progress in the lower nave of the Chiesa.

Here is the resting place of St. Francis.