My World-Basilica di Santa Chiara-Assisi, Italy February 2009

Comune di Assisi is a medieval town located in the province of Umbria . Assisi is a little over two hours north and east of Rome by train. You have to transfer at Foligno for a 15 minute ride to the Assisi Railroad Station. Outside the Station you hop on a local bus (1 euro per way) that takes you up to the hill.

Assisi's notoriety throughout the world comes from Saint Francis of Assisi and is the burial place of him. I will share more about Saint Francis and the Basilica di San Francisco in a future post.

The Basilica di Santa Chiara (Saint Clare) pictured is dedicated to and contains the remians of Chiara Offreduccio(July 16, 1194 – August 11, 1253) - Saint Clare of Assisi, a follower of Saint Francis and, a founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, and known to today as the Order of Saint Clare.

The Church was built in 1257 in Italian Gothic Style (also known as Franciscan Style) and was consecrated in 1265. The simple facade consists of horizontal layers of pink and white stone, and there are two lions at the side of the portal.

The Piazza di Santa Chiara is lovely and welcomes visitors with a fountain and seating along a wall overlooking the valley below.

The Church has these great lateral buttresses, also known as flying buttresses and are common in medieval cathedral design. Under these and incorporated into the design are areas where the townspeople could get water which you can see in the photographs below. The water is cold and quite refreshing after a long day of exploring.

Of course I had to stop and grab a bite to eat and enjoyed a couple of sausages, they were quite tasty and, a bowl of country soup.

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