Assisi, Italy

With the temple being closed on Mondays, we are able to occasionally do some exploring of beautiful Italy and Fall is a good season to do it. We rode along with some friends to Assisi in Umbria. 

Assisi sits elevated on a prominent hill surrounded by a valley checker-boarded with olive groves and orchards, tilled fields, and Italian farms. It is most famous for being the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order of monks and nuns. 

Steep stairs, narrow streets and angled alleys tangle and turn through blocks and blocks of stone buildings.

Many churches are found in Assisi with interiors that range from ornate to humble. Brown robed, sandal-footed followers of St. Francis walk among the many tourists. Gift shops, restaurants, pastry shops and gelaterias abound. 

A funny, funny thing happened while we were there. We were FaceTiming with our son AJ, who happened to be looking at a Live Feed Camera of Assisi. He showed us what he was seeing and we realized that the location was right near us. We went to the piazza and waved our hands above our heads and...he found us! There we are...circled in green...in the screenshot they took. That was certainly a fortunate stroke of serendipity!!!!  

Italy has a rich religious history and 2,000 years of Christianity has permeated nearly every facet of Italian life. The showplace and center of every town is the church/Chiesa or the cathedral/Duomo. In the case of Assisi, there are 15 places of worship! What a nice place to visit!