Assisi

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This morning we went to Assisi, which is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of St. Francis. Like many of the medieval cities in the area, the old town is relatively small so we had to park outside the city walls and walk our way in.

We began our visit in the town's central plaza -- Piazza del Commune -- which includes the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (pictured below). As you may have guessed from the columns (and the name, if you understand Italian), it was originally a Roman temple and was converted to a church following the arrival of Christianity.

Next we walked around the medieval side streets a bit. I particularly liked the various religious works that were built into some of the walls.

Above the old town is a 14th century castle, which was apparently built by a local cardinal in order to "intimidate" Assisi's residents. Nice guy, right?

The climb up to the castle was a bit of a workout, but it allowed for some very nice views of the old town.

We also got our first glimpse of St. Francis' basilica, which is on the northwestern edge of the city. It was apparently built on donated land once referred to as the "Hill of Hell", which served as the execution site for many a medieval criminal. Interesting place for a church.

During our walk from the castle to the basilica, we wandered the streets a bit more and stopped in a few other churches. Here's the view of one of the older "streets" that we walked down.

The basilica dates back to the 13th century, following St. Francis' canonization, and in reality consists of two churches: the "Upper" (Superiore) and "Lower" (Inferiore). The "Upper" church is at ground level in the photo below.

Here's the view of the basilica from a courtyard at the level of the "Lower" church (an entrance is visible under the large arch in the center of the photo below). I have to say that, given the size of both churches, it was hard to fully comprehend that the basilica basically consisted of one church on top of the other. And below the "Lower" church was the crypt, which houses St. Francis' tomb.

After finishing up our visit to the basilica, we headed back through town on our way to the car. Along the way, we passed a building with a nice mosaic.

As we were leaving Assisi we had a nice view of St. Francis' basilica and the surrounding Friary. The complex definitely has the look of a fortress.