Assisi....

The train ride from Perugia to Assisi only took about 30 minutes. We rode through soft rolling hills of green, brown, and gold with a heavy mist emanating from the earth to meet the sky. It was the kind of scene we see in a movie when the knight, or our hero, comes riding over the hill toward the next adventure. From the train station, we caught a local bus that takes you up to the top of the town which was built upon a hill. Because of the heavy mist, we couldn't see the town which added a sense of mystery to our arrival.

Oh, what a beauty of a town it is! Once a very important Roman town, it's been amazingly preserved and a richness of history abounds. Of course, Assisi is famous for Francesco Bernardone, or Saint Francis, one of the most favorite s patron saints of Italy (and the world), and his counterpart, St. Chiara (Clare). The survival of Assisi is now based upon the presence of Francis and Chiara and it is a busy destination point for not only tourists but young and old pilgrims alike. Nuns, priests and monks are everywhere following the lives of these two who as young people, much to their parents' chagrin, gave up their family wealth to follow a path of poverty and saintliness. In 1206, a vision changed young Frances' life when he heard a voice coming from a wooden crucifix telling him to give it all up and follow God.



He stripped naked, turned his back on his father and his privileged life, and began wandering throughout Italy like a troubadour. He quickly amassed followers, including the young 18 year old Chiara, by preaching a message of peace, kindness, love of nature and equality. In 1233 he established his order of Franciscan Monks which quickly received the popes approval.

Both Francis and Chiara are entombed in their own churches and the visitor cannot help feeling some awe at being in such a setting. Below is the tomb of Saint Chiara--there is a wax figure on top and her remains are below within the tomb.


I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of St. Francis' tomb in the basement of the tremendous basilica that bears his name. It was a place of contemplation, prayer and silence. They had long candles that, with a donation, could be added to a basket in front of his tomb. Later, according to the sign, the monks would light the candles. Yes, of course I placed a candle in the basket.

This is the Basilica of St. Francis.

As with Perugia, Assisi is one photographic moment after another. There are many churches, a Roman Amphitheater and Temple of Minerva, incredible views, and wonderful medieval architecture. We wandered throughout this town each day with great enjoyment and fascination. Another fun thing was the number of clothing stores that were for clergy people with all the accoutrement necessary for running your church and looking good while doing so.



The final piece to this Assisi posting, part I, is a bit more information about young Francesco Bernardone--the future St. Francis. In 1202 he put on some armor and headed out to fight and battle the Perugians. Things didn't go so well and the then 20 year old Francesco was captured and put into a prison for about a year in Perugia. Upon his release, he returned as many Vets do, a changed man who avoided friends and had difficulty working even though his father offered him a company job. It was at this time that he spent many hours outside the city walls fasting, praying and searching for meaning to his life. I love the following picture which depicts his return. The iron cast statue is on the grounds of his Basilica of St. Francis.

Lucca Visit Continues...

Our next fun adventure with Dom and Louise was to learn about olive harvest and just how the olive oil process occurs. A couple of weeks prior to our arrival, they had successfully finished their harvest and oil pressing from the small(ish) grove of olive trees on their property. It turned out to be their biggest haul to date and they worked very hard to see the process through from start to finish. During fall harvest, big nets are set down on the ground below the trees and the branches are basically shaken or raked so that the olives will drop. Louise and Dom, having only a relatively small number of trees do it the rake way. One can spend lots of money on special appliances that help with this process or one can just whack at the branches with bamboo sticks to make the olives fall. Apparently, among olive pickers there's a bit of an obsession to make sure that every last olive is picked. There are all kinds of discussions and opinions between the long time locals and the "Americani" regarding the best month of the year to pick (from October into January) and whether picking too soon will increase the oil's acidity. And, there's further discussion regarding just what increased acidity really does to the oil and its ultimate taste. The long time Italian olive growers just shake their heads at the new folks, and though the non-natives are armed with the scientific proof of success of their new ways, they would never be able to convince the old timers (nor would folks like Louise and Dom even want to try).

So once the olives are picked, off to the mill they go. The farmer makes an appointment ahead of time and depending upon the number of kilos involved it may take a good part of the day from start to finish. We were fortunate that when we were there, friends of Dom and Louise's were taking in their olives from several hundred trees. Plans were made to connect at the mill later in the day and watch at least part of the process.

Simply put (because otherwise we'd have to remember the details) the olives are processed through various machines that clean, separate, and mash out the oil. This mashing/separation process leaves a good deal of byproduct that looks like it will add much to a compost pile.

And voila, the final results! Out comes the oil to be collected in large jars, bottles, or stainless steel containers!

We so wish you could taste this....ahhhh... such a wonderful gift, homemade olive oil!

Lucca with our Gracious Hosts ...Day 1

Oh, where to begin, where to begin? We have just returned from 10 days away to visit friends in Lucca and sightsee in Perugia, Assisi and other locales in the Umbria region. We began with a rather smooth and trouble free train ride down to Lucca, a lovely city in Tuscany where we were kindly invited by new friends Louise and Dom. (They are Americans from the NW who have lived part time in Italy for 8 years now). Dom and Louise own a home just outside of Lucca in a little village called Partigliano. They kindly picked us up from the train station and gave us a tour of Lucca--an incredibly charming city that has had a protective wall around it for 2000 years. It took a third of the town's income and over 100 years to build the wall but it worked! It kept out invaders over the centuries and today the wall serves as a great walking path and vista point around the small city. Lucca originally was a Roman settlement and Dom and Louise were amazing at giving us all kinds of historical tidbits as they showed us the interesting sights (and they actually have memories that work... unlike the two of us). There's a Roman amphitheater, small picturesque winding streets and, of course, many churches. No small part of Lucca's claim to fame is that it was the birthplace and hometown of the legendary opera composer Giacomo Puccini. Life size cutouts of him abound in the Fall of 2008 on this 150th anniversary of his birth.
From Lucca we drove the half hour or so that it took to arrive in Partigliano. The journey led us up very windy roads with views of mountains and fall foliage. It's olive harvest time and tree after tree is being patiently stripped of its bounty. The hills roll, the gardens, vineyards, and plots of tended land abound and we were so lucky to be surrounded by the beauty of Tuscany and in the warmth of Dom and Louise in their charming home.

On our way to their village, what does any good host stop to do? Why buy some wine, of course.