Francesco suggested that he, Doni, Paul, and Anne all go to Assisi for a day. (See point 24 on our map.) Assisi is in Umbria, which is an adjacent region to Marche. It is one of the few all-inland regions of Italy. This, of course, means that it is in the mountains.
One of the best parts of going to Assisi was parking in an olive grove. I don't know how good it was for the olives, but it was a fun place to park. The picture below is a link to a video that shows the parking area.
(video, 87 seconds)
The view up towards the city; you are looking at the Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi.
The entrance into Assisi is certainly imposing, but looks fairly flat.
until you get inside and see the angles of the streets. Note that the mural from the previous picture is seen closer in this next photograph.
There were of course many little shops in Assisi. This one caught Anne's eye: lavender and plants.
We first went to the Basilica. The church has an upper and lower section. The Basilica is made of two churches, the Lower (inferiore) and Upper (superiore). The lower is the older, and was finished in 1230. The upper was started about 10 years after that. There is a large piazza (plaza) in front of the lower church. There is a fairly steep slope in this piazza, even though that doesn't show clearly in the photograph. What does show clearly are the two levels, with the stairs (and a ramp) connecting them.
Here is a close-up of the rose window over the lower entrance.
There were some Friars here and there in the city.
In this next picture you can see Anne looking like a total tourist, wearing a fanny pack!
Unfortunately, they did not allow pictures inside the Basilica. (Here is a link to the website of the Basilica itself.) We all felt that the lower level was more impressive than the upper, although both were lovely. We exited the church on the upper level. This next picture is looking back over that piazza and out into the neighboring modern cities of Santa Maria degli Angeli and Bastia Umbra, as well as the surrounding area. On the right of the picture is the Friary (seen in the picture above with the many arches). By the time we were done looking around the church, it had starting raining lightly outside.
The link below goes to a video that gives a 360' panorama outside the upper Basilica entrance.
(video, 68 seconds)
Another example of a harmonious mixture of the modern and the historic in Italy is the art selection in this window.
One of the little shops customized aprons, hot pads, and other things. They would do a little paper bookmark as a free sample. It was fun watching her work; she was obviously experienced.
(video, 29 seconds)
In addition to the famous Saint Francis, Assisi has another famous saint, Saint Clare. She was one of the first followers of St. Francis, and started an women's religious order. There is a church dedicated to her in Assisi. The flying buttress on the side look like a structural afterthought.
The piazza in front of the church was busy, teaming with tourists despite the damp weather. This angel with pretty wings was not deterred. We don't know what little keepsake she was selling.
By this point, we were getting hungry for some lunch. This was a popular thing to do, eat lunch, and overflow space was required at this restaurant ("Osteria da Santu Mangione") that we walked by.
We went to a wine tasting bar that Francesco had read about, which happened to be right next to the hotel that Ted and Chuchang stayed in on their trip. Here is a picture that they had sent out, with Chuchang outside a hotel entrance.
And here is a video that Paul took, directly in front of that archway. You can see the sign for the tasting bar in both the photo and the video. We didn't realize at the time that this is where they had stayed.
(video, 22 seconds)
Unfortunately, they were full so we didn't eat there. It was not too difficult to find another spot to eat. Here Francesco and Paul are trying the wine; the restaurant is in the basement of one of the old buildings.
Doni had a lasagna, Francesco had ravioli, Paul had caprese salad, and Anne had a grilled vegetable sandwich.
Francesco, Doni, and Paul:
On the return trip from Assisi, a slight detour brought us to Gubbio (point 25 on our map). Although not one of the more famous Italian cities today, it was important at various times and so has many great buildings in it. Our visit was later in the day, so we did not have the opportunity to explore many of these buildings. But it was still an interesting city to visit.
Anne thinks the option of doing a tour on a 'train on wheels' might be fun someday. (Sorry about the lack of focus in this picture; we didn't notice the train until the last moment.)
Gubbio was, of course, a mountain village with the associated steep roads.
The Palazzo dei Consoli is one of the buildings we didn't make it into. It has a grand bell tower and an impressive entrance.
Francesco, Doni, and Paul in the piazza.
They definitely don't want anyone climbing on that wall.
This video is from the steps of the museum building. You can hear the bells ringing.
(video, 75 seconds)
The Cathedral of Saints Mariano and Giacomo had a lovely interior. Instead of lighting votive candles, a donation lit up the area behind the altar (aka Apse).
This church was interesting ... The Church of Saint Domenico. It seems that they couldn't make up their mind if they wanted to keep the brick exterior or give it a fancier finish.
It was after sunset when we were leaving to head home. Looking back up the side of the mountain, the cross on a church floated in the darkness.
We are happy that Francesco suggested going to Assisi and Gubbio.
Updated July 2020