Slideshow: Assisi

Assisi is an impressive sight, with medieval walls and turrets spilling down a massive hillside. The taxi ride from the train station—-a steep uphill approach into the city--reinforces the drama of the city skyline. St Francis’ popularity is the town’s lifeblood, and Assisi is often filled with religious pilgrims. Stores are chock full of St Francis paintings, keychains, statuettes, rosary beads, clocks, lighters... pretty much any kind of souvenir you can think of, it’s there, and it has the name or image of St Francis on it.

The evening we arrived, a large group of about three dozen young Spanish teens had descended on the Piazza del Comune. They were part of some youth mission, dressed in matching clothes reminiscent of cub scout uniforms (yellow bandana around the neck, powder-blue shirt, navy shorts, black socks). They were strolling through the streets, sitting in doorways and on fountains. Some of the boys strummed guitars and sang Spanish campfire songs while the girls swayed and clapped and sang along. We saw two of the middle-aged scout leaders, wearing the same uniforms as the teens, lounging in a nearby café drinking espresso and chatting up the locals.

Thanks to the approaching storm clouds, sunset over the city was surreal. I felt like I was looking at an old renaissance painting of the city rather than the city itself. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen, and I found it difficult to look away. Afterwards, as it got dark, those same storm clouds hovered ominously for a couple hours before the rain and lightning started. I ended up taking photos mostly of the approaching storm. I don’t know if the pictures can really do justice to the beauty of the sky at dusk, but take a look for yourself...



See larger photos Here.