Breakfast in Assisi

Me and Giulia

Last Monday I met Giulia for breakfast at the caffe. We ate some pastries and sipped some coffee, and then decided to walk around town a little bit. Foligno has tons of shops, but neither of us had much money so we just enjoyed window shopping. While we were walking, I told her I had been really wanting to go to Assisi (have you heard of St. Francis of Assisi???) because it's a pretty well-known town around here. Without a moment's hesitation, Giulia said we could meet there the next morning for breakfast and to sightsee a little. Even though I knew taking the train in the morning to Assisi and being back by 12:30 would mean getting up at 7 am, I agreed. :)

I got on a train the next morning around 8:30 and arrived in Assisi a little before nine. Giulia called to let me know her train was late and she wouldn't be there until ten, so I used the extra time to explore a little. Assisi is actually a hilltop town (as most of the cities around here are), so the train station is in another town called Santa Maria degli Angeli, located at the bottom of the hill. Right near the train station is the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a beautiful church I visited that was made famous by St. Francis. Inside the church, directly underneath the basilica's dome, is the Porziuncola chapel, a small stone chapel given to St. Francis as a gift from the Benedictine monks. It was from this location that St. Francis founded the Franciscan order in 1209, also known as the Order of Friars Minor, a brotherhood who seeks to lead life in the generous and selfless way St. Francis demonstrated. After the establishment of the Order and a divine encounter with God that St. Francis experienced, countless pilgrims traveled to view the famous Porziuncola and receive the "Pardon of Assisi." (For more details, read the story of the Pardon here). The chapel's small size was simply not sufficient for all the visitors, so in 1569, Pope Pius V arranged for a new church to be built that incorporated the existing chapel. Since its original construction, the church has been modified and restored during many different time periods, and thus has marks of both the Baroque and neoclassical styles.

It's actually quite a simple church. The walls don't have elaborate decor, and there are no massive murals on the ceiling, as in so many other European churches. However, there is an elegant beauty to the simplicity, and the entire church is filled with an air of peace and tranquility. As I entered the church, I heard heavenly voices coming from the front. It truly sounded like a choir of angels. I could not locate where the music was coming from, so I slowly tiptoed around the church, peeking around corners to find this beautiful sound. At last I found a room full of people, apparently participating in a morning mass or service of some sort, but as soon as I entered the room, the service ended and people began walking out. I was disappointed to have missed it, but several people stayed in the room to pray so I joined them as well. After spending a few moments just observing, I decided to continue to look around more, and I found myself in the last empty seat in the tiny Porziuncola. The small chapel could only fit about ten people, and I was lucky to have found the empty prayer niche when I did. The mood was very solemn and I could see that people were truly engaged in prayer and intercession. Comforted in knowing I was not alone in dealing with emotional struggles, I closed my eyes and poured my heart out to my Father. I'm not sure how long I stayed. I'm not sure how many people came and went while I was there. But it was wonderful to kneel before my God and speak with Him and worship Him alongside so many others silently crying out to Him. While I was there praying, I couldn't help but think about St. Francis so many hundreds of years ago, kneeling in the same spot, whispering to the same God. How incredible to think that God was listening then, and He is still listening now.

I didn't take any pictures at that church, but if you want to know what it looks like, visit this website.

at breakfast

After awhile I left the church and went to go meet Giulia. We had a very fun time together. We rode a bus up to the top of the hill where the center of Assisi is and ate breakfast in a little caffe we found. Since I had to be back home by 12:30, we didn't have a whole lot of time, but we made the most of the hour or two we did have. The day was miserable. It was freezing, cloudy, and almost raining, but that did not stop us from walking through the town, looking in the shops, and viewing the Basilica of San Francesco (a different church at the very top of the mountain). The Basilica is huge, beautiful... and we got there right as we had to leave to catch our train. There wasn't even time to take the bus back down; we ended up paying an exorbitant 15 euros to hurriedly take a taxi down to the bottom. I will definitely be going back to see the church again, and this time I plan to actually go inside!

looking out over a beautiful view from the top of Assisi

San Francesco's Basilica. This is as much as I got to see of it. I'll be going back for sure!

a quick picture before running to catch the train!