The Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi (Saint Francis) is located in Assisi Italy in the province of Perugia. It is the birthplace of St. Francis who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208. The construction of the Basilica was begun in 1228 and completed in 1253.
An earthquake in 1997 caused some major damage to the Basilica when part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside. Restoration and repairs took over two years to complete during which time the Basilica was closed.
Assisi is located some 186 kilometers from Rome and is reached easily by train. The main train line between Rome and Ancona has a station at Foligno (on the branch line to Spello, Assisi, Perugia and Lake Trasimene), so coming from Rome, take one of the nine daily trains on the line to Ancona, stop at Foligno (trip to this point takes approximately 2 hours), where you can transfer to a Perugia-bound train that stops in Assisi(this portion of the trip takes 10-15 minutes). Once disembarking the train, head for the Piazza in front of the Station where you can catch a public bus up the hill (cost 1 euro) and it will drop you at a designated point. It is approximately 3 miles up the hill. Bus tickets can be purchased at the newsstand inside the Station.
Please take time to stop by SKY WATCH today and take a peek at other's submissions from all over the world. You will find a great variety of photos. Last week we had over 350 participants from near and far.
66 comments:
What beautiful blue skies, so bright, makes the Basilica more beautiful.
What a fabulous sky! And the building is great, too. I've read a bit hre and there about Assisi, so I especially like it.
They knew how to build - a glorious setting in every way.
What a gorgeous photo Erin, and very interesting post.
What an incredible shot, wonderfully composed, and the sky is so alive with that blue and the wispy cirrus! Awesome!
Such a pity that the Basilica was destroyed, but fortunately it is restored now. Thanks for sharing this interesting piece of history!
Thanks for your kind words on my Sky Watch. I appreciate it very much.
what a great shot! That sky is sooo blue!
very nice Erin,
Happy weekend and skywatch.
Greetings JoAnn/Holland
Very interesting info. Wow - that is a B-L-U-E sky! Beautiful photo.
It is always so beautiful with a white building against such a BLUE sky!
That is a wonderful building full of history, thanks for sharing with us all or taking us on tour with you!
How Beautiful! So Blue!!!
They have glorious churches. Oh the sky is sooo blue.
A beautiful photo with the stark beauty of clear light accentuating the sharp lines of the basilica.
such a lovely structure. Thanks for the bit of history too.
wonderful to see this Basilica.
Lovely image and sky you have captured it with.
That sky is AMAZING!!!!
Wonderful shot all the way around. Such a beautiful blue sky to show off the Basilica.
Oh my gosh what a beautiful blue sky---it almost out-shines the Basilica...almost. Thanks for sharing some background too.
What a fabulous sky capture!
This may be one of my favorites you've shared so far, Erin!
The sky is...ALIVE! So vibrant. And everything is composed perfectly in the photo. I enjoyed the little bit of history and info, too.
Happy Skywatch Friday!
~Lisa
New Mexico, USA
This is not just a skywatch, it's got bonus my world info. Beautiful place and so historic.
Amazing blue sky, thanks for sharing, it's the only way I will ever admire an Italian sky!
Wonderful composed!
Impressive church and what a beautiful blue sky.
Great shot. I featured a church today too.
Sydney City and Suburbs
That is a great shot! Interesting building and ohhhh a lovely crisp blue sky. :)
One of the best shots i saw today!
Mine's here - http://www.midlifedancing.com/2009/04/top-floor-sky-view.html
Happy Week-end!
reat sky over the grand old church!
I love this shot. The Basilica is beautiful and the sky is a brilliant color of blue. Thanks for sharing.
the lively blue sky adds more to the beauty of the church...great shot
Great depth!
lovely series of shots! wow! watta nice place to do HDR and DRIs! hahaha! wonderful!
Beautiful. I so want to visit Italy!
Loved that deep blue sky, the church works perfectly as foreground, nice!
The sky above that old and beautiful basilica is just amazingly blue. The photo is just great!
very intriguing and mysterious... good job and thanks for sharing...
Happy Weekend. Check out mine here:
HISTORY of SUPERNOVA and SWEETPAINANGELS IN MY LIFE SPICES OF LIFE
Erin, I am so envious of your travel and the amazing photos ... keep 'em coming who knows when I will get back to Italy in person .. but I know I can get a taste right here! Thanks.
Really enjoyed your fabulous picture and post of the old basilica. Beautiful sky too!
I've been there before the 1997 earthquake but don't remember much:/ Thanks for the reminder.
A brilliant backdrop for that wonderful old building!
Such deep blue sky!
Perfect clear weather for sight seeing. :)
Love the wispy blue sky and the soft effect on the building. Great image!
Great post, with a brilliant shot. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you also for dropping by my blog and leaving behind encouraging words.
That's a fantastic photograph of the beautiful Basilica against the magnificent sky.
The basilica with that sky simply looks stunning!
This photo is postcard perfect! (Hey join us there http://postcardperfect.blogspot.com/
;)
What a lovely and beautiful cathedral and a lovely blue sky too. They have just had a nasty earthquake just north of Rome, I hope they are able to recover:( Italy is such beautiful country.
Italy is like a wonderful dream everytime I am reminded of it as in the pictures I see here on your warm blog.
I would love to back and visit this special place with so many details of creativity that have been accumulated carefully over time.
Beautiful basilica and an amazingly blue sky. Great shot. Interesting to learn some history of the area, too.
What a beautiful shot. I like the contrast between the white buildings and the deep blue sky. Thanks for sharing this one.
Erin: You certainly made beautiful captures in Italy, this one is special.
Wow! Look at that blue sky. I LOVE old buildings like this. They're so full of character and history.
Seems there are such an abundance of marvellous buildings for you to snap. You do amrvellous job too but then the light is so fantastic over there.
The sky is blue-blue, the basilica is bright-white, but what is that rust colored object at the foot of the stairs?
word verification: fisti
Is that Italian for anything? It should be.
Great shot! That sky saturated blue - love it.
beautiful photo and thank you when you visited the home village of pages! nice weekend!
In two and a half months I will see this beautiful blue sky again ! (at the Garda Lake)
Beautiful blue sky! Thank you for your visit and greetings from Croatia
You truly live in a magnificent world through the beautiful sky so luminous in its blue! Thanks for your kind comment on my Skywatch maiden feature.
The wispy sky and the geometric brickwork make a great contrast.
that is a stunning photo....
Gill in Canada
Nice colors and composition.
Excellent photo. Really nicely done
Thank you for sharing, great photoblog :)
Beautiful Sky Watch photo! I didn't realize how large the building was until I looked at the small car in the corner. What a place!
Sharon
Wow - one of these days I've just got to get to Italy - you must have had a wonderful time taking in all the beautiful surroundings!
That place must be a great one to visit. Quite breath taking in every way.
Two words: In. Credible.
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