Day 26: Sunday, May 31. I had to meet a student this morning at 7:50 a.m. It seems he could never find the church he was assigned open. We had used up all the closest churches by this point, so on Friday I told him I would take the bus with him so he could find a new one. On Saturday I got an idea to let him instead do a piece on closed churches and the restoration process. I emailed him to call me, but since he never did I met him at the bus stop. Despite my having spent months in this town in previous years, I walked the wrong way and instead of being early arrived right on time. I told him my plan and I showed him some sites while he shot. I left him to go to 9 am mass at the cathedral. I sat in the back so he could drop the gear off with me. I was to meet another student at 10 am who was planning to interview the priest at the cathedral. We weren't able to do the interview until 10:30 but did get what he needed.

After that the plan for the day was to drive to Assisi. My cousin, her husband, my brother and I were in one car and Kim went with our friends from Greece in the other. Both cars had gps so we didn't feel the need to travel via caravan. It was much better that way. The gps took us the back roads. It was probably the most direct route but not one for someone who is uncomfortable on small mountain roads (you should go back and read my post about driving in Slovenia 6 years ago). In any event our car reached Assisi well ahead of the others (as I expected). We were able to visit the church of  Santa Maria degli Angeli before they even got to Assisi. SMdA is a 400 year old church built to enclose the area where Francis began his work. It even includes a small 9th century church in the center.

We then proceeded up the hill to the town where we found a parking space. The other car then pulled in right next to us! After a beer and a sandwich we were ready to head to the main church, the Basilica of St. Francis. It's a steep hill and only local cars are allowed. The people in our car walked up while the people in the other car took a cab. We all pretty much made the visit on our own. The basilica is really two churches, upper and lower, with the tombs of Francis and his friends below. The church is well known for the Giotto frescoes - as well as its massive size. This picture is really only of the upper church. Note the background people (near the door) to get the relative size.

Kim's group pretty much spent their entire time at the Basilica. You can see her pictures on Facebook.

Our group continued down the street lined with shops. It's very touristic, but at least no one comes up to you wanting you to come in their shop. At least they have a little decorum. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend, so the place was packed. We made our way to the Basilica of St. Clare. Her remains are there, but most people come to see the Franciscan cross. There are reproductions is crosses all over the world (our St. Francis in Muncie has one), but the original is in a side chapel at St. Clare. This is the cross that spoke to Francis and told him "rebuild my church." We didn't make it to St. Damian, the other significant church where the Franciscan cross was originally located and where Clare had her convent. We headed back to Macerata, this time opting to go via a longer but quicker route. 

We went up the street from our apartment for dinner to Nuovo Paradiso, our neighborhood restaurant.