Assisi is perched
on the side of a mountain and is a quaint and charming town. It is worth a
visit for that alone. However, it is best known as the home of St. Francis of
Assisi. Born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone in 1181 or 1182, he became a
humanitarian, writer, and the founder of the Franciscan Order. You may know him
best for this prayer:
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt,
faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where
there is sadness, joy.
O
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in
giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in
dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
The
town was settled before the Romans arrived, but they are the ones who built the
first walls to surround it. That’s the Old Gate in the next picture. It is
called that because the town kept growing, and there were eventually three sets
of walls and gates.
We
saw many interesting sites in Assisi, but the Basilica (Church) of St. Francis was
the best of all. That’s the next photo.
The
upper level of the Basilica is covered with approximately two dozen frescos
showing scenes from St. Francis’s life. The frescos are attributed to Giotto di
Bondone and his assistants and were done in the late 1290s. Photos weren’t
allowed inside, so I got this one from the Internet.* It shows St. Francis
preaching to the birds.
It’s easy to get
inspired by other writers when you visit their birthplaces. Especially when
those places are as charming as Assisi.
__________
* The frescos are in the public domain because
of their age.
No comments:
Post a Comment