My favourite town in Italy
Assisi — my favourite town in Italy, and the most powerful pilgrimage site I have ever visited. Holy places, extraordinary food, truffle on everything, and the chance to connect with St Francis and St Clare in the places where they lived and died. (5 min read)
My favourite town in Italy is Assisi. It is in the centre of the region of Umbria about 2 hours from Rome.
Assisi is an important historical centre, largely because of St Francis and St Clare. While most of the town is medieval and a lot of it post-dates Francis, there are Roman remains from 300BC and very old Christian sites. The town converted to Christianity in 238AD.
While Assisi has only 30,000 residents, 4 to 5 million people visit each year. It is a place of pilgrimage, but not just for Catholics.
Francis prophesised that many would be saved by pilgrimage to Assisi:
“Be blessed of the Lord, O you holy city, faithful to God, because many souls will be saved through you, and many servants of the Most High will dwell within you, and from you many will be chosen for the eternal kingdom.”
Assisi has several pilgrimage sites and the energy of the town is powerful and unique. One can pray in the Basilicas where Francis and Clare are buried… and at the places where they died… and in front of the crucifix that spoke to Francis. One can visit San Damiano — the church which Francis rebuilt and which became the home of the Order of Poor Clares — and even see his family home.
The countryside surrounding Assisi is stunning. And every aspect of the town is picturesque. The stone buildings and streets create a wonderful sense of harmony and peace. And there are few cars on the streets and very little noise.
Assisi is a hill town and there is a lot of opportunity to burn calories. This is essential because there are many opportunities to consume calories. The true luxury of the truffle is obscured because it is so readily available — in pasta, on pizza, on bruschetta and with boar. And there are sweets aplenty.
One can easily walk from one end of Assisi to the other in less than an hour. Walking aimlessly… one turns a corner to see a lovingly tended little shrine… or yet another pot of bright red geraniums. And there are many chapels to visit.
A pilgrimage provides the opportunity to focus our attention on… and to have a personal experience with… great lights such as St Francis and St Clare. But nothing beats the experience of connecting with Francis and Clare in Assisi.
As there are lots of day trippers to Assisi, it is best to stay overnight to really connect with the place.
On pilgrimage we generally stay four nights in a convent in Assisi. I have had this beautiful experience many times and can highly recommend it.
Staying overnight means we can enjoy the local produce and see a beautiful musical about St Clare, called Chiara di Dio.
Assisi has lots to offer but it is also an easy day trip to several other holy places on our itinerary, including Cascia (St Rita), Siena (St Catherine) and Loretto.
But if you want to just stay around Assisi that is fine too. There are lots of opportunities to be in nature — fields of olives and flowers and hills to climb. There is also a wonderful spa built around Roman ruins in a deconsecrated convent which takes advantage of a thermal spring in the area. It has state of the art saunas and spa baths and great massages.
© Paul McCarthy & Iluminar.au
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