Sky Watch - Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi, Italy

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.

My World Today - Piazza Bendetto Cairoli-Rome, Italy 2009

Today I take you to a charming little Piazza that I passed by every day while in Rome enroute to my bus transfer destination at Largo Argentino. The Piazza Benedetto Cairoli is not a well manicured Piazza and perhaps that lends to some of its charm. It is a favorite of the pigeons and you will have to shoo them off the benches if you'd like to sit and people watch. I usually sit for a bit and soak in the atmosphere. Do click on the images to enlarge.

The building you see behind the fountain is the Palazzo Signori.

On the end opposite the fountain is a statute dedicated to Federico Seismit-Doda (1825-1893) who was involved in some of the early politics of the young Italian Republic and a member of the Venetian Volunteers. This group led a revolt against the Austrians in 1848.

The pigeons put on quite a show in the fountain. I thought this fellow quite pretty.

Let's sit down and chat a bit, watch the pigeons and plan out our adventure for today.

Do stop by MY WORLD and visit the other participants posts. We have quite a group from all corners of the world. I know you will find the photo essays very interesting.