The state of Umbria is located next to Tuscany and today we travel to several areas in Umbria to be able to understand the history of Italy.
ASSISI
This is the church called Santa Maria degli Angeli which is built over the site where Saint Francis taught in the early 1200’s.
Note that anytime you see a yellow flag on a building that means the property is owned by the Vatican.
We travel up the hill to Assisi (UNESCO Award Site) which is the town where St. Francis was born around 1181. We enjoy the beautiful view of the Valley of Umbria.
The streets are narrow but cars drive on them today. Most of the buildings are built with stone and are the same buildings from 800 – 1000 years ago but remodeled and upgraded.
I visited this church in Assisi called Chiesa Cattedrale S. Rafino with a beautiful sculpture of St. Francis with a very compassionate face. He was born in Assisi of very wealthy parents but he gave up his wealth to help the struggling and poor.
St. Francis’ parents became wealthy by commercial trading and there are still many businesses that still buy and sell in Assisi.
The beautiful view is visible in many places in Assisi.
St. Francis of Assisi is buried in this Church, the Basilica di San Francisco.
There are few gardens in Assisi but there are many cafes, residences and apartments that have flowers and plants:
DITTA G. GRAZIA POTTERY FACTORY
There are many pottery factories and stores in Deruta, Umbria but this is the biggest one.
The pottery is hand made by putting clay on a wheel.
The clay product is fired in a kiln (wood (top photo) or electric (bottom 2 photos)).
Finished products: Prices range from $130 for a teacup to $220 for a dinner plate to $2,600 for the divided serving platter.
Cortona is a medieval town high up in a hill much like Assisi.
We had dinner at La Loggetta Restaurant where they also had a wedding party dinner which was interesting to watch. We arrived back at our hotel at 10:30 PM.