Yes, it IS grandiose the 16th-century Franciscan Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli rising up majestically on the plain below Assisi. At first site, one wonders about the reaction of St. Francis, Il…
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In one of the twenty-eight late 13th-century frescoes in the Basilica Superiore di San Francesco recounnting the life of St. Francis, San Francesco prays before a Byzantine crucifix in a rundown church asking the…
Assisi spreads out serenely on the hill backdropping the Assisi’s War Cemetery where over nine hundred white tombstones stand stalwartly in straight, evenly- spaced rows. like the rows of the proud soldiers…
At over 2500 feet above sea level on the wooded slopes of Mount Subasio backdropping Assisi… …the retreat of San Francesco, Eremo delle Carceri – called “the Hermitage” – remains a silent…
Esteemed biographer of Assisi’s San Francesco, Paul Sabatier, once wrote, “It seems that St. Francis had a special affection for Narni and the surrounding towns.” His first sojourn in the town probably…
During the late 9th to early 10th century, Narni was both a stronghold of, and threatened by, the Saracens – the appellation in the Middle Ages for Muslim Arabs – as was…
The Umbrian medieval hill town of Narni hides countless wonders and a visit there should include the discovery of them. You can start as soon as you enter the town: off the…
Perched on a rocky outcrop in southern Umbria, Narni captivates many a visitor nowadays. As of 299 B.C., the Romans had their eye on it, too: they were distinctly aware of the…
In Italy, the patron saints of cities, towns and villages are feted with joy, emotion, grande passione and splendid celebratory events rooted in local traditions and history. In Umbria medieval gem, Narni,…
In a recent telephone chat with Roberto Nini, we reminisced about our first meeting. In 1997, I had taken the train from Assisi to Narni to study the art and history of…