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Assisi: Medieval Splendor
Assisi
(Half-day)
Assisi (Full-day)
Rural Life Revisted: A Tribute to the Past, to the People
On the St. Francis Trail
Assisi/Spello (Full-day)
Comments
The above itinerary plus an interval for lunch
which can include an experience of Umbrian rural culinary traditions
(and lore).
Visit to the Cathedral of San Rufino, 12th c. Romanesque materpiece
built on the site of the martrydom of San Rufino, Assisi's first
Christian bishop and our walk will include other areas of the picturesque
back streets of Assisi (each one, a delight to the eye!), meeting
the locals, artisans, etc. wherever... as a morning certainly isn't
enough to discover all the hidden secrets of Assisi!...
or
A visit to the Church of San Damiano, outside the medieval walls...
where the crucifix is said to have spoken to St. Francis in the
early 13th c., changing his life....
or
After lunch, a ride up to the 15th c. Franciscan
monastery, the Hermitage (Eremo delle Carceri), set in hundreds
of acres of live oaks and built over the site of the grottoes where
Francis and his followers withdrew for periods of prayer and meditation.
Lunch in our home
Full-day tours for groups of 4-8 may include lunch in our home (about
4 miles from Assisi in the hills). Menu includes antipastos, pasta
or risotto, main course, side dishes, dessert, wines. NB:
mini-cooking demo can precede the meal.
Lunch in family-run country restaurant outside of Assisi
For groups of 8 or more: out to the country to a family-run restaurant
for a meal of Umbrian rural cuisine (the closest one can get to
eating with a farm family!) - preceded, if desired, by a mini-cooking
demonstration!
Memorable visit to a privately-owned historic Renaissance palazzo
which incorporates the 13th c. home of one of St. Francis' first
followers... and a visit with the owner who will tell us the fascinating
history of her family home....
This new tour is targeted at providing participants with an "inside" look at rural life of the past, as still lived by so very few. Our tour starts in the bellissima Assisi countryside at our farmhouse - now being restored by my husband Pino, fine artisan - in order to learn about the restoration of the rural architecture, now strictly preserved and considered part of Italy's artistic heritage. I will tell you about the restoration of the house, while also explaining the former structure and how we lived, worked the land around us.
We will then visit farm families who live near us, those people who taught Pino and I everything about farming - and life - when we moved here in the 1970's and set out to work the land, with few resources but molto determination. Today, few farmers still work the land, using the methods used 40 years ago - a rarity. What a privilege, therefore, for us to visit the homes of a couple of our neighbors, catching them in the midst of farm chores, chatting with them about past farm life "quando c'era la miseria" ( loosely - but aptly - translated as "when we were poor"...) - and enjoying a taste of their wine. Our tour will wind up with a buonissimo farm lunch (or dinner - if our tour takes place in the afternoon) in the home of some of our dearest farm neighbors (and still today, some of our best friends).
This tour is for those who wish to:
- take in the beauty of the landscape
- interact with local rural people in their own ambience
- learn about past lifestyles from our farm neighbors, told with deep insight and profound wisdom
- enjoy a supurb meal of la cucina genuina (the best in home-cooking)
- ... and have a completely out-of-the-ordinary and unforgettable "tour experience"!
Recommended "pre-tour" reading on this site: "Memoirs of Rural Life" and the Zsa Zsa Story.
Our tour will center on the rich historic and artistic heritage of this "gem" of the medieval hilltowns, while also offering an opportunity for contact with local artisans and artists as well as a most special encounter with a Franciscan friar. See article for more details.
After a morning in Assisi, we will head over
to Spello - che bello! - (16 km from Assisi), a gem of the
"undiscovered" medieval hilltowns of Umbria.
Like Assisi, Spello is constructed in the local pink limestone quarried
on Mt. Subasio, lending it a unique rosy hue, particularly at sunset.
Called Hispellum by the Romans, a walk through Spello is
a feast for the eye: cobblestone passageways open into intimate
closed piazzettas, and lead to Roman arches, Romanesque churches,
a wooden loggia, a frescoed courtyard...
Our tour will take in one of the most splendid Renaissance fresco
cycles in Umbria, painted by Pinturicchio (and my personal favorite
of all Umbria's artistic masterpieces), as well as a special visit
to a most unique local friar/craftsman... who'll also show us a
13th century cloister and refectory, not open to the public.
Our day will end in a medieval wine cellar for a tasting of Umbria's
best wines, prize-winning olive oils and various Umbrian delicacies
which range from white truffle/almond paté to wild boar salami...
our host: one of Umbria's top sommeliers.
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