Part 2 of Day 1 in Assisi

      The tour started in the common area. This plaza has government buildings, and St. Mary over Minerva. The Romans built a temple to Minerva (Athena) in Assisi; since then, it has been converted to a Catholic church, but the facade is still the original Roman one.

 

     Afterwards, we saw Chiesa Nuova, "New Church," the church which in St. Francis' house. (No, it's not new anymore.) Pictures were not allowed, so I only pictures of the outside. There's an ancient Roman well right outside the house which everyone (of course) just had to stand on.

     The next stop was San Rufino, named after the first bishop of Assisi who was martyred by the Romans. This church was in fact built before Sts. Francis and Clare were born, and there is a font inside where it is said they were baptized. (If you've seen the CCC cartoon version of St. Francis' life, you will recognize the church's facade. :) )






     Then.... Santa Chiara (St. Clare). I LOVED that church. It was done in a medeival style, with Gothic arches, flying buttresses, an icon-like style of painting. The ceilings were this strange shade of blue that I'd never seen before, with stars. It was so beautiful. This church also has in it THE crucifix of San Damiano. The crypt housed St. Clare's body. She was pretty tall woman. It's sad that I couldn't take any pictures, but at the same time, it gave me more time to soak it all in. Here's a link that has some pictures of it, though they really don't do it justice.
 http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/assisi-santa-chiara
     We had our Mass in the late afternoon at San Damiano. This was the first of our special, private
Masses... which people kept piggybacking on. :) All week, we'd have at least one person see that Mass was going on, and then join us.
     It was something of a hike to and from Mass, since San Damiano is outside the city walls. We passed by a lot of olive trees. There are so many in Assisi.
     Lunch and dinner were 4 course meals, and they gave us way too much pasta. Too much food.....
     That night, some of us students went up to the fortress. The view was incredible. So many lights below. Then musicians in one of the squares below started playing Michael Jackson songs. It was really funny.
     On the way to Assisi, we stopped at a gas station, and I saw this--

     Here in Italy, the Smurfs are called "I Puffi." There were posters for the movie everywhere last year. I took this pictures in honor of a certain Matt, who does a fabulous "I Puffi" voice.
     And there you have day 1 of Assisi.