48 HOURS IN… Assisi
As the last tourist buses roll out of town, the whole atmosphere of Assisi changes. With five million visitors annually, many of them on a pilgrimage to visit the birthplace of St Francis, it is one of the most visited places in Italy. However, find yourself somewhere to stay the night and you gain a whole new experience of the town. I found an apartment just off the main square, the Piazza del Comune, and was looking forward to two days of exploring the town and the surrounding area. Everywhere you turn there are images of St Francis. Shop windows full of statues and small shrines on the side of the street abound. As you walk along the street there are nuns, monks and priests everywhere. There is no mistaking that this is a very important place of pilgrimage for Christians. But it is home for many lay people too, and when you stay overnight you get to see a real slice of local life.
TO THE BASILICA
Of course, my first priority was to visit the Basilica di San Francesco. St Francis died in October 1226, was buried here, and the building of this magnificent church was started soon after. The Lower Church took shape first and the Upper Church was built on top of it. The site was previously known as the , the ‘Hill of Hell’, and was where criminals were taken for execution. Francis had
