Talking to the Animals

Our first trek this morning is a 25 minute drive to visit the home of St. Francis, the namesake of our current Pope. Assisi is an exceptionally clean and picturesque walled city in the Umbria region in central Italy. 

       

     The shops are decked out for spring....

       

     ....   and the streets are spotless.

                                    

                   The view through the wall's archway, to the Papal Basilica of St. Francis.

                                    

                          The ceiling of the upper church...

                                   

Francis was born to a wealthy family here around 1181, but by 1205 he had chosen a life of religious servitude and living in poverty. He was reputed to be able to communicate with the animals and the fresco below depicts him communing with the birds...

                                   

      Another work depicting Francis at his death in 1226...

                                   

      St. Francis' resting place in the basilica.

                                     

            The view from the church grounds to the valley surrounding Assisi. 

       

The rest of this day is consumed by travel to Naples, which will be home base for the next three nights. We pass Mount Vesuvius which last erupted in 1944.

       

       This shot from our hotel room in Naples, flatters the realities we viewed while entering the city. 

        

Next stop...  Capri !

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>