Assisi, Hill Town in Umbria, Italy
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ส.ค. 2021
- travel videos & photos at: townsofeurope.com/ with text, maps & links.
:01 begin
1:04 map route
1:56 start walking tour
5:01 Piazza del Comune
8:34 Chiesa Nuova and back lanes
9:49 San Rufino
12:08 Rocca fortress
16:15 walking downhill
17:25 cat lady
18:50 via San Francesco
20:43 Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
23:05 Saint Francis
The hill town of Assisi in Umbria is one of Italy's best-preserved medieval villages. The ancient buildings are constructed from a local stone that has a slightly pink color enhancing the visual beauty of this special place with a lovely network of pedestrian lanes to explore, some of them so steep they are staircases rather than streets.
The main reason that most people visit the town is that it was the home of Saint Francis, one of the Catholic Church's most important saints, who is buried here under the great basilica that was constructed two years after his death in the early 13th century.
We will show you that is Assisi has much more to offer the traveler because it is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved of all of the Italian hill towns.
Assisi is in central Italy, a 30-minute drive from Perugia and two hours from Rome or Florence. You can also get there by train or bus.
That impressive Porta San Pietro gateway is part of the original medieval wall that went all the way around the town protecting it from attack, and the wall is still pretty much all there.
You'll quickly realize the streets are a little steeper than they look on the map.
When you come to Assisi, be prepared to climb some hills and go up the staircases, and up the paths, it's steep.
Typical of many Umbrian towns, it was built on a hill, partly to protect themselves from attackers, with origins of the town that go back thousands of years.
Some of the lanes in town are quiet residential areas with no shops but don't worry, there are plenty of streets that are filled with stores ready to sell you fascinating items, such as along busy via Portica, one of the main streets in town that will soon take us to the Piazza del Comune, the thriving heartbeat of the city.
This stretch of via Portica, just west of the piazza, has one of the biggest concentrations of places to eat. The self-service restaurant is one of those typical eateries that you're going to find all over Italy. You'll be out of there in 1/2 hour, enjoying a pretty good meal.
This brings us to the main Piazza Comune of Assisi - it's at the crossroads of town, you'll probably come back here several times in your visit.
The tower is 47 meters high. It's called Torre Del Popolo, the people's tower, connected to Palazzo Del Popolo/
The most fascinating building on the piazza is the ancient Roman temple of Minerva. Its façade is intact and very well preserved with six Corinthian columns and a triangular pediment.
The little streets around the piazza are an ideal place to just take a wanderer, kind of an aimless stroll. You can walk in these lanes just south of the piazza along Via Bernardo da Quintavalle. Like all of town, it's a very old neighborhood with stone buildings, mostly residential, and this lane is quite level like some of the others in this central area by the piazza.
Via San Ruffino is one of the most delightful streets in town, perhaps because it connects the main piazza with the Cathedral, and all along the way, it's got shops and restaurants, and beautiful old buildings.
Notice the perfect paving of the street. It was laid down with brick and stone in the most pleasant way, and it's so smooth and efficiently built that you will never trip or slip while walking on these beautiful lanes.
It's only 200 meters from the piazza to the top of via San Ruffino where you come upon the Cathedral of San Ruffino, one of the most popular attractions in town.
From the piazza in front of the church we get the best view of the fortress up on the hill the Roca Maggiore. You'll notice there is a slight difference in altitude from the piazza up to the fortress, and there's no elevator, no escalator. We'll need a little muscle power.
Walking around inside and exploring this Rocca Maggiore is just as fascinating as the views that you get looking out from it.
We've come down from the Rocca, heading now to the great Basilica of St. Francis, entering into Via San Francesco, the wonderful shopping street that will take us all the way to the Basilica of that great saint.
The Basilica of San Francesco ranks second only to St. Peter's in Rome as a point of Catholic pilgrimage.
Construction was started immediately after St. Francis's death in 1228 and was completed in 1253, with two churches in the same place. 28 frescoes by Giotto cover the walls of the upper church, depicting scenes in the life of St. Francis, the man who single-handedly revolutionized the Catholic Church through the return to values of peace and love.
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA GF D2 | Summer | ร่วมส่งแรงใจ เชียร์ไทยไปพร้อมกัน](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dN2gLsCJ0T0/mqdefault.jpg)
I think this is the first time I have seen your wife. A very lovely lady. Wonderful post. Thank you.
Wonderful presentation of Assisi and St. Francis. Thank you very much!
Your France and Italy videos make my day ...
Loved this oh so much!!!.....TY for sharing your trip, thoughts and love for not only Assisi but for St. Assisi!!! ...Very entertaining and educational.....looking forward to visiting there in Sept 2024.
I thoroughly enjoyed the video and the commentary
… thank you !
I love how you share the history...can imagine living in these places in different times. As a lover of St. Francis the San Stefino seems much more in keeping with St. Francis's values and teachings than the Basilica, as stunning as it is. Nice addition of the local cat lady. Wonderful seeing Assisi, thank you.
Hope I can travel in Assisi in the future:)
So wonderful thank you 🙏
A beautiful and amazing video. Thank you so much! I was there 3 weeks ago. I'm so thankful and felt so blessed to walk on the "pilgrims way" and stepped in the Basilica.
What a delightful video! I just returned from Assisi! Love it and love your video/ thank you so much!
So beautiful city and architecture. Indeed, I enjoyed the buildings made of stone(material I appreciate). It is so sober and beautiful. Good idea to make such a video in Italy, because it is a country whenever you put your eyes, there is remains of ancient civilization 🌷🌷🌷❤❤❤🤗
Dennis... you are the best. Its a treat to watch your videos. Thanks for another wonderful tour - thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you for this amazing video. I enjoyed your commentary and felt as if I had just walked the streets of Assisi.
Nice to see you back again and thanks for uploading that, another Italian gem to visit.
Thank you so much!
You're welcome!
SUPER💚🍀👍
Amazing architectures.BlytheTv
My favourite guide, wonderful.
Thank you Dennis for this amazing history sharing. So detailed.
Hi Mr.Scallan, I'm a fan of yours and I'm watching your videos sinced 2004..
Very helpful and interesting! I've learned from your videos, so please continues doing this..
Thanks and regards from the Netherlands!
That is great to know you have been watching for so many years, thanks! I plan to keep making new vids for at least another decade to keep you busy.
Thank you for this wonderful video, a must see!
A very beautiful historical place, where there are many monuments of the past era!
Hii we are at the moment in umbria and we love youre videos we followd your tour today trough assisi and it was a wonderfull routewe also had lunch at the lanterna was perfect really good your route was easy to follow and we loved every second of it thank you so much
Hi Emma, I'm delighted the video was helpful. If you are still heading for more nearby towns have a look at my other related videos:
Umbria: th-cam.com/play/PLke86NFI6R8xkVfY3rSNjpFOqFEJbHkAN.html
Tuscany: th-cam.com/play/PLke86NFI6R8wtvEzA4apxi74GFxVekxFD.html
Dennis
You did a great job showing Assisi. I was there in 1999. Very peaceful place.
Pleasant video, as usual; old stones, beatiful buildings and super interesting comments. From Poland with love to local gattara :). I would like to know her mail to thank her for taking care of local kittys.
Great video! You explain the history so well and with great detail! Thank you for sharing!
Video ben fatto! Bravo, well done.
Love the stone-so pretty!
Superb city well preserved
Thanks;inspiring !
Hi my all friend i come frome Cambodia nice to see you all
I will be there the 2nd week of May. Thank you. What weather should I expect in May?
Love all your work as always Dennis!
I wonder if I could pick your brain for some expert advice please? What would be your recommendation re the cheapest easiest and most reliable method of getting mobile phone coverage all around Europe please? Normally I don’t need to activate my phone while travelling as I rely easily on my iPad and free wifi, but I imagine when we can travel next year we will need to check in to cafes and venues and show proof of vaccination. Do those European SIM cards work? Also, this may sound like an odd question, but how do folk who live in places that get snow avoid slipping on black ice and snow? Is there a special walking technique or what, as I’m scared of slipping over and breaking something, which would really cruel a holiday, especially as I travel solo! I’d really appreciate your expert advice please? Stay safe. Happy travels,
Cheers,
Marg
Hi Marg, thanks for the comment. SIM cards are easily available from mobile phone shops everywhere. The clerk there can explain the different price plans, less expensive than USA. You can get a 30-day card with whatever level of data you want to pay for. I've never walked in winter snow or ice there so cannot answer about black ice. Just be careful. Nothing worse than falling on a holiday and not being able to walk.
I visited Italy when I was younger.
I preferred Assisi over Florence & Rome
Wonder if I can find the cat lady that you spoke to?
where is the free music?
I spot Carlo Acutis’ house at 17:41
Hi Beth. I'd like to check in. I know that Bl. Carol remains in Assisi. But where did you get the information that he lived in Assisi? He certainly loves St.Francis and by extension Assisi but I've not read that he lived there.
Really great video. I have seen many other videos. Many videos where there is more self-promotion than a guided tour of Assisi. Greetings from Hallein. If you are interested, you can also watch my videos