Assisi

Yesterday brought a wonderful day of Italian sight-seeing. Half of our group traveled with Peter to the ancient town of Assisi to visit some old churches (which is pretty much a given seeing as how that is the vast majority of what we always travel to see…churches and the artwork inside them). The main attraction is the church of San Francesco. He is a Saint of the Catholic church, and in his lifetime during the late 1100's to early 1200's lived a life of humility and servitude. The church that was constructed for him just shortly after his death consists of two levels, the lower level is filled with magnificent frescoes by Giotto and Simone Martini. The upstairs cathedral is also lined with frescoes depicting many different ancient biblical stories and other scenes from the lives of generous saints. In the crypt deep underneath the church we were able to see the tomb of San Francesco as well as various other Friars that have the privilege to be buried with him there. It was very fascinating to go to Assisi because the main group of site seers consists of devout Catholics who feel a deep spiritual connection to San Francesco and the things he taught. The only equivalent that comes to mind (and I don't think that it even really comes that close to the actual relationship) is Temple Square for LDS members. The town was all constructed in a much lighter stone that contrasts the color of Siena drastically. We walked up and down the steep streets wandering in and out of cute boutiques and kitschy souvenir shops, stopping for some lunch that unfortunately turned out to be the saltiest thing I have ever eaten. It tasted as though the dough was soaked in the Mediterranean, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella then baked in a brick oven. However ,the view of Tuscany from the village was unbelievable as we just sat and relaxed along the city wall and attempted to soak it all in. We all attempted to take photos and capture the moment, but somewhere between the closing shutter of the camera and the picture displayed on the screen all emotion was drained and the simple beauty was drained from the images.