Contemplating Monk-hood

After prying our lifeless bodies out of bed at the butt-crack of dawn, we gathered ourselves together to board the bus and head to Assisi. Which, by the way, I learned is not pronounced Ah-sis-ee, but rather Ah-see-see. Assisi is the home to St. Francis, where he built his own church and started the Franciscan Monastery. He spoke about God and the bible to whoever would listen, including animals (there are a lot of fresco’s where he is talking to animals) and he gave up all his family had given him to live a life of poverty to be closer to God. He also vowed to a life of chastity and to display that shaved his head in the classic monk haircut- a big shaved circle on the top of his head.

So, anywho, we arrived in Assisi at about 9:30am and started in the Basilica di San Francesco. It is a monstrous church that could easily put a castle to shame. They started to build the basilica in honor of St. Francis after he died of pneumonia in 1263. We started in the Chiesa Inferiore (the lower level) and then descended to the Tomba di San Francesco. I saw where St. Francis’ remains are! It was incredible! He was originally buried in fresh dirt where he had asked to be buried when he died, but once the basilica was completed they moved his remains there. There were monks everywhere there (it’s a big tourist attraction) and so you couldn’t take any pictures, but I wanted to sooooo badly! His tomb is directly below the altar of the main church that is above. I mean, I am still insanely amazed that I saw where the remains of a saint are!

Then we walked upstairs to the Chiesa Superiore (main church) and looked at fresco’s that took up more area than my high school gymnasium. We’ve been studying paintings done by Cimabue and Pietro Lorenzetti in my Art History class, but all we really do is see slides of paintings. But then at the church we got to see the real thing!!!!! It was so incredible to see in person true works of art that have lasted for centuries.

When Napoleon conquered Italy he considered himself to be the anti-Christ and turned most of the churches throughout the country into something else. He had the basilica turned into a stable for horses… which would probably be a Ritz Carleton for those lucky horses that got to reside there. I mean, I can’t even properly give this place justice as to how huuuuge it is! Hopefully the picture at the beginning can give you an idea…

We also were able to view some of the remaining belongings of St. Francis. Although he didn’t have much, we got to see the robe he wore, as well as a robe of wool he wore underneath it during the winter. I wish I had a broader/ more descriptive vocabulary in order to explain the enormously sensational feeling of awe when seeing this. There were also handkerchiefs that had been used by him when he was sick with pneumonia to dab away his sweat, and a letter from the Pope declaring his brotherhood to be official in the eyes of the church, a rock where one of the monks used to lie his head at night, and a pair of boot/ moccasins St. Francis wore during the winter… which strangely resembled Uggs.

We then had lunch at this adorable restaurant, Ristorante Anfiteatro, which was within an old coliseum. The inside of the restaurant has pictures of Roman Gods painted all along the walls. This time we got a choice of what pasta and meat we wanted, I chose Spaghetti Carbonara and roast beef. The pasta was good, very filling, but a little too eggy for my taste. The pork roast was also pretty good, it came with a sort of carrot sauce and it reminded me of beef stew my mom used to make… except this beef was very thin and not at all chunky. Then we explored town a little and got some yummy gelato and saw decently priced shoes that I was going to buy, but of course the shop was closed. Probably best I suppose. Oh well.

We met as a group again and toured the Cattedrale di San Ruffino. After that we went to the Basilica di Santa Chiara. In English she is known as Saint Clare. She and St. Francis were in love before he devoted himself to God. She decided that she also wanted to follow that path and become a monk… or a nun… whatever a woman monk is called. And she started the women part of the Franciscan’s. We saw a wax outline of her body… kind of creepy, but there are a lot of wax outlines of body’s in churches. And we saw the cloak and robe that she wore… so old! There was also her wedding dress there that she had made before she decided to join Francis and God. And when she decided to devote herself to Jesus, they cut off all her hair (its part of the practice I suppose, just like the monk haircut, only they didn’t cut her hair quite that short or shave it). And they kept her hair in a box and it was there at the church, she had long beautiful locks of golden blonde hair- I saw hair that dates back to the 1200’s… holy moly!

After that we walked down a big hill through olive trees and came to the church that St. Francis and his brothers built by hand. It was quite a remarkable experience; to see the stones they laid by hand and smell the inscents burning and walk on the floors where they slept- absolutely amazing! After we looked at every nook and kraney of the church we searched the area high and low for a bathroom, but the best we could find was a big tree- which we decided to pass on. We labored up the steep hill that was so charming to go down, but felt intense leg pain when struggling to go back up it to catch the bus. Loading the bus and taking my seat I curled up for a relaxing, but curvy, ride home. Mmmm, nothing ends the day like complete physical exhaustion.

My roommate, Amanda, and I with our director, Filiberto. He is quite possibly one of the coolest humans on earth.

A view of the rolling hills of Assisi from the Basilica.

A quaint little side street on our way to lunch.