Hi All,
I was able to post part 1 of trip report last year, but had issues adding the rest. In the spirit of "better late than never". I am trying again. Hubby and I had great trip to Assisi and Rome in Nov 2024 with much help in planning from this forum so i wanted to pay it forward.....see orginal post w/ part 1 posted last year. (it won't allow me to repost that).
Friday Nov 8th
We had breakfast at Bar Trovellesi in Piazza del Comune. We went up to the counter to order (cream filled crescent, tea for me, coffee for Ron). I loved people watching here: from the men doing “shots” of espresso at the counter of the eatery, to the small school bus dropping young kids at the primary school right across the square, to the group of older men sitting around a nearby table chatting away among themselves. We ate right beside the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, “St. Mary over Minerva” which is exactly what the name suggests. Built in the 2nd half of the first Century BC, it was erected as a temple for the pagan goddess Minerva, goddess of wisdom and justice. It was left on its own after paganism fell by the wayside in the early centuries AD and used for various functions until it was renovated into this church honoring Mary. The outside has 6 huge columns. The inside, being baroque in design, is A LOT!
Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva – Assisi Pax Mundi
Tour with Bret Thoman: The Franciscan Experience Bret Thoman
I came across Bret’s website while researching Assisi. I ordered 2 of his books on Assisi and reached out to him. He lives 90 minutes from Assisi but would meet us for the day to show us the sites outside upper Assisi that needed a car. We paid him $250 for the day. It was great meeting him. He is an American from Georgia who felt a pull to St. Francis the first time he came to Assisi. He went on to convert to Catholicism. He ended up marrying a woman from Italy. They initially lived in Georgia and did tours in Italy but now live in Italy fulltime w/ their 3 kids (he studied Italian so is fluent. Both he and his wife are now dual citizens). They are both 3rd order Franciscans, so know SO much about Francis, Clare, the sights and the Franciscan Way.
Bret texted the BEST message: “Do you know where Piazza Matteotti is? There is an ancient Roman tower at the edge of the wall, at the top of the road from San Rufino. Wait for me there”…..LOVED it—right out of a Magic Tree House book! We met him at that Roman wall and were off on our guided tour. The only thing I would change about our tour was I wish we had had more time at the hermitage. The issue was that it was very foggy when he arrived, so he timed our stops based on that, and the fact that many churches close from noon til 2pm. I wish we had had more time at each stop, particularly the hermitage, but understand why we couldn’t this time.
On our way driving to the hermitage, we passed the family home of Blessed Carlo Acuntis.
The hermitage i The Hermitage of Carceri in Assisi | is where Francis would come to “get away” praying for days in the caves, surrounded by nature and its beauty. There is a holly tree here held up w/ bars since it is said to be the tree where the birds sat quietly to hear the saint preach. We saw the refectory and the “bed” Francis used here (concrete). The small chapel and confessional were something to see. Again, I would have loved to spend more time here in prayer, but we had to go.