If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
We awoke to another warm, sunny day, perfect for hiking up the hill to the Rocca Maggiore. Once inside the fortress, Ken and I snaked our way through a long stone corridor to a polygonal tower on the northwestern corner, and climbed to the terrace at the top of the tower to look out over the surrounding olive groves, villas, and farm fields. As we stood taking in the views, we heard choral music from the lawn of the basilica below. Magical.
We ate lunch at Bar Giardino San Lorenzo, halfway down the hill from the fortress. It was a small family-owned restaurant with a terrace looking out over the city. The food was not great, but we had a lovely, shaded table in the breeze.
In the afternoon, Ken and I walked down to the Pinacoteca Comunale in the Palazzo Vallemani, a municipal art gallery with frescoes and paintings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, gathered from the city's secular and religious buildings. It included works by unknown local artists, as well as more famous painters including Giotto (or a collaborator), Guido, and Puccio Capanna. The collection was small, easy to assimilate. One room of frescoes reminded me very much of the dining room in an abbey outside Pienza, where the monks invited Ken and me to join them for dinner on our first trip to Italy, 23 years ago. The paintings had faded over the years and the colors were soft and calming.
In the evening, we joined Meghan on her passeggiare, strolling down to the piazza in front of the Basilica di Santa Chiara. As we gazed out over the valley, we watched a small rainstorm move toward us, and the evening light turned golden and then brown and green. We retreated into the maze of little alleyways and narrow steps, reaching our apartment just as the downpour hit the roofs.
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| The Rocca Minore, or small fortress, as viewed in closeup from the Rocca Maggiore. |
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| Looking out over the valley from inside the main courtyard of the Rocca Maggiore. |
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| Meghan. |
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| In a couple of days, Ken and I will be cycling up this valley toward Genga-Pianello. |
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| A secure corridor through a long stone wall leads to a polygonal tower with a terrace. |
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| If you look closely, you can see people gathered on the steps of the Papal Basilica, in front of the open doors from which we heard the sounds of music as we stood atop the polygonal tower. |
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| The week we were in Assisi, a music festival was held outside the walls of the Rocca Maggiore. The Sunday morning we were at the fortress, workers were setting up for the final concerts, scheduled to begin at 17:30. We tried to get tickets, but they were sold out. |
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| More stone buildings, stone streets, near our apartment. |
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| On Sundays, the kennel where our Rosie is staying posts photos of all the dogs. Rosie already looks so much older than she did when we left her there two weeks ago! |
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| It seems we are always looking for food... |
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| Antique carousel in the piazza at the Basilica di Santa Chiara. |
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| An impending rainstorm turned the sky gold. |
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| The Basilica di Santa Chiara glows in the cloudy bright light. |
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| Outer walls of the convent at the basilica. |
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| Looking back toward the Papal Basilica of Saint Francis. |
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| One of many old fountains in the walls of Assisi. |
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| A maze of windy streets and alleyways brought us back to our apartment as the storm approached. |
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| We were intrigued by this little ristorante tucked into an alley near our apartment--but we ran out of time and never ate there. |
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| Another view of the valley Ken and I will cycle out of Assisi. |
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| Typical Umbrian countryside, from the top of the polygonal tower. |
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| Me, hiking down from the Rocca Maggiore. |
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| Meghan needed to check out this pasticceria. |
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| Me and Meghan in the piazza outside Santa Chiara. |
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| The storm approaching. |
