Tuscany 2013: Giorno Cinque

This is our last day to enjoy the idyllic Tuscan countryside and we are already dreading saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts Barbara, Madalena and Lucianno. We had infirm plans to drive to Florence today but after hearing Fiona’s description of Assisi we decided to abandon Florence in favor of a pilgrimage. Fiona had been to Assisi a few days ago and wanted to return. We were pleased to have her join us and provide her great intuition and companionship.

Unfortunately, we had to abandon Rod and Glenda at Scannano due to a colonic catastrophe. We took a quick trip to the Rapalano pharmacy to provide Glenda with some “motivation” and our depleted band of five set off for Assisi. The drive was almost entirely autostrada and we can now include Umbria in our travel history. After passing through several mountain tunnels we came into a vast flat valley and drove past Lake Trasimeno. We also passed the city of Perugia and in just over an hour we were climbing toward the ancient mountaintop town of Assisi.

By pure divine coincidence we were getting to see Assisi at a perfect time. Pope Francis, who chose St. Francis as his namesake, will be visiting next week in commemoration of the Feast of St. Francis on October 4^th. Thus Assisi was clean and tidy in preparation for the papal visitation.

The approach to Assisi is quite spectacular. Unfortunately, I am having technical issues with the camera I bought specifically for this trip, which will be evident in the photos.

Our stroll through Assisi was interrupted by two devotional stops. The first is a basilica dedicated to St. Clare who followed the example of St. Francis and abandoned her families' fortune to serve the poor. The church serves as the site of enshrinement for the crucifix that is believed to be the inspiration for St. Francis’ vision of God asking him to “build his church”.

We were told that the tour office at the basilica de Francesco would reopen at 2pm so took the opportunity to find a place for lunch. Again, at Fiona’s recommendation, we enjoyed a restful pranzo at a ristorante that overlooked the vast Umbrian valley below. Lunch was exceptional with salads and homemade dishes of ravioli, gorgonzola pasta and tagliatelle with cingale (wild boar). We washed it down with an Umbrian vino rosso.

Walking to the end of Assisi brought us to the Basilica of St. Francis. Sadly we were unable to procure a guided tour of the Basilica, however Fiona was again most helpful in pointing out the high points which included a descent to the tomb of St. Francis. It was quite moving to witness the devotion and reverence of the hundreds of pilgrims from all over the world.

Back up in the main Basilica we saw a private Mass given for a group of Polish pilgrims. I was again reminded that no matter where you travel in the world, you can appreciate exactly what is going on in the Mass regardless of the language and I caught myself reciting the prayers, in English, of course.

We hiked back to the parking lot with the obligatory stop for gelato.

Our drive back to Scannano was interrupted by a few GPS miscues and we received the answer to our prayers in Assisi-Habemus Poopum was declared by Glenda.

We are now sitting on the Scannano patio watching another magnificent sunset while sipping vino rosso and recounting the events of our last day in the Tuscan countryside.

Apologies for the late blog postings. Our internet service is better than anticipated but my time to edit and upload photos and attempt to write something intelligent has been seriously compromised by too much Tuscan sun, fun, food and wine and lack of sleep.

Basilica di Santa Chiara (St. Clare)

Dedicated to the founder of the order of the Poor Clares, this Umbrian Gothic church is simple, in keeping with the nuns' dedication to a life of contemplation.

Clare, St. Francis' partner in poverty, founded the Order of the Poor Clares. Catholicism's purest example of simplicity is now glorified in Assisi's beautiful churches. In 1939 Italy made Francis and Clare its patron saints.