Our destination was Urbino but we made a slight detour about lunchtime to visit Assisi (of St Francis of Assisi fame). In the “old days” when we taught moral lessons each week, St Francis was featured as the patron Saint of animals and the environment. The founder of the Franciscan order, Sir Francis shares honours with St Catherine of Siena as the patron saint of Italy. He is remembered by many, even non-Christians, as a lover of nature.
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| Bacilica di San Francesco, Assisi |
Assisi is a very beautiful and very clean city (which is often not the case in Italy). No doubt some of this can be attributed to the fact that it was UNESCO listed in 2000 (which presumably means additional funds) and that massive repairs to the city were needed following two devastating earthquakes in September 1997. Whatever the reason it appeared a much-loved city.
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| 'Downtown' Assisi |
We visited the Basilica di San Francesco, built in the early 13th century (beautifully presented) and had a wander around the streets before heading off to Urbino, with a little difficulty we might add, as there has been a lot of roadworks done in this area which just does not feature on the GPS.
We drove through some very scenic countryside. It would have been quite spectacular but for the haze which seems to have been with us for most of our time in Italy. Not sure if it’s caused by pollution or not but it’s certainly hanging around which is a real shame.
We booked into our hotel at Urbino and then walked to the old city for dinner – another walled city. It’s notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect – and another clean Italian city. Dinner was risotto sitting on the edge of the Piazza watching the passing parade.
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| Urbino |
