My last day in Italia was also my busiest day. That does not mean it was the best day, by any means. It just means that I did many things:
* In the morning I visited the Chiesa di (Church 0f) San Damiano - here, Saint Francis heard the voice of Christ, "rebuild my church...". Here, he also wrote the Canticle of the Creatures, shortly before his death. Finally, this is also the exact place where Santa Chiara began a convent for the Poor Clares. This convent is still intact today.
Chiesa di San Damiano (note the sign on the right side; It's in Latin, and I think it says "Praise the Lord all ye creatures!"):
Convent Dining Hall:
Convent Orchards, with a view of the Spoleto Valley:
* Early afternoon I walked through the town of Assisi, up the hill to Rocca Maggiore, an imposing fortress at the summit of the hill. The fortress is a monumental example of medieval military architecture.
Rocca Maggiore:
View of the Rocca Maggiore from one of its towers. To the right is the town of Assisi, only partially visible because it's on a hill:
Inside Rocca Maggiore:
* Then, around 3:30 in the afternoon, I said good-bye to Jasminka (Jasmine), a Croatian woman who'd moved to Assisi with her family and worked at the convent I stayed at. She's been really kind throughout my stay here, making suggestions about which places to see and giving directions on how to get there. On my first morning here she even prepared me a great coffee. She was a delightful woman. We had some great conversations.
I boarded a bus towards the Assisi train station. But before boarding the train, I quickly paid a visit to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels). It encloses the Porziuncola (the nuclues of the first Franciscan monastery) as well as the Cappella del Transito, the little chapel where Saint Francis died.
Basilica di Santa Maria deglie Angeli:
I boarded the train, Firenze-bound, arriving there at around 8pm, just in time for the final of the WM.
Goodbye Assisi...I shall never forget you. God-willing, I'll be back one day:
I found myself a restaurant across the street from a sqaure where hundreds of fans were watching the Italia - France game. I guess no one but me was hungry, because the restaurant was like a morgue: empty, dead. But I needed to eat some dinner before embarking on a long trip back to Frankfurt. I ate one last delicious meal in Italia.
After the 90 minutes plus 30 minutes extra-time, I paid the bill, and crossed the street to the square, and joined the fans in watching the penalties. It was delightful watching the crowd celebrate each time the Italian team scored. They kept screaming Forza Italia, forza Italia!!! I cheered too.
When the last player scored, the palce went mad. Pandemonium. Adrenaline. People honked their horns. People filled the streets within minutes. Flags everywhere. In the distance I could here firecrackers and see fireworks. This was Firenze. I wonder what Roma was like.
I walked back to the train station to wait for a midnight train, headed for Frankfurt via Milano. Along the way, I saw people leaning out of their balcony windows screaming Italia, Italia! What a frenzy. I loved it. I love Italia.
Today's WM scores:
Italia 1 - France 1 (5 - 3 Penalty shootout)
* In the morning I visited the Chiesa di (Church 0f) San Damiano - here, Saint Francis heard the voice of Christ, "rebuild my church...". Here, he also wrote the Canticle of the Creatures, shortly before his death. Finally, this is also the exact place where Santa Chiara began a convent for the Poor Clares. This convent is still intact today.
Chiesa di San Damiano (note the sign on the right side; It's in Latin, and I think it says "Praise the Lord all ye creatures!"):
Convent Dining Hall:
Convent Orchards, with a view of the Spoleto Valley:
* Early afternoon I walked through the town of Assisi, up the hill to Rocca Maggiore, an imposing fortress at the summit of the hill. The fortress is a monumental example of medieval military architecture.
Rocca Maggiore:
View of the Rocca Maggiore from one of its towers. To the right is the town of Assisi, only partially visible because it's on a hill:
Inside Rocca Maggiore:
* Then, around 3:30 in the afternoon, I said good-bye to Jasminka (Jasmine), a Croatian woman who'd moved to Assisi with her family and worked at the convent I stayed at. She's been really kind throughout my stay here, making suggestions about which places to see and giving directions on how to get there. On my first morning here she even prepared me a great coffee. She was a delightful woman. We had some great conversations.
I boarded a bus towards the Assisi train station. But before boarding the train, I quickly paid a visit to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels). It encloses the Porziuncola (the nuclues of the first Franciscan monastery) as well as the Cappella del Transito, the little chapel where Saint Francis died.
Basilica di Santa Maria deglie Angeli:
I boarded the train, Firenze-bound, arriving there at around 8pm, just in time for the final of the WM.
Goodbye Assisi...I shall never forget you. God-willing, I'll be back one day:
I found myself a restaurant across the street from a sqaure where hundreds of fans were watching the Italia - France game. I guess no one but me was hungry, because the restaurant was like a morgue: empty, dead. But I needed to eat some dinner before embarking on a long trip back to Frankfurt. I ate one last delicious meal in Italia.
After the 90 minutes plus 30 minutes extra-time, I paid the bill, and crossed the street to the square, and joined the fans in watching the penalties. It was delightful watching the crowd celebrate each time the Italian team scored. They kept screaming Forza Italia, forza Italia!!! I cheered too.
When the last player scored, the palce went mad. Pandemonium. Adrenaline. People honked their horns. People filled the streets within minutes. Flags everywhere. In the distance I could here firecrackers and see fireworks. This was Firenze. I wonder what Roma was like.
I walked back to the train station to wait for a midnight train, headed for Frankfurt via Milano. Along the way, I saw people leaning out of their balcony windows screaming Italia, Italia! What a frenzy. I loved it. I love Italia.
Today's WM scores:
Italia 1 - France 1 (5 - 3 Penalty shootout)
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