I guess that if you're going to be a tourist in Italy, there are going to be many churches on your itinerary, It's not a matter of religion for us as it's a matter of art, architecture, history. And what's more ubiquitous in that regard in this region—or in all of the country except for Rome's Vatican—than Assisi.
We expected it to be crowded, and we were lucky to quickly find a parking space. Naturally, we'd all done a bit of reading, so our aggregated information and various interests allowed us to guide ourselves in a comfortably half-assed fashion. Certainly, we could only take in a small portion in a day, especially with the crowds meaning longer waits to tour the great cathedral or get a coffee. Long lines for bathrooms, too. The place has you for the duration and does everything it can to shake the coins from your purse. It's a perpetual Catholic carnival, which is true everywhere in Italy, but also much of the rest of Europe. Just not so much as this.
Part of the power of these living artifacts is that they're layered, like the growth rings of trees.
The surface is Catholic Disneyland, but wandering off the main drag more than a block two and the lived-in city takes over, and it's peppered with small cafes and restaurants that are happy to be themselves. Really narrow, sinuous pathways weave their way up the mountainside.
The four of us are not jaded tourists. We relish immersion, as much as it's possible, although lack of language skills gets in the way. We thought we had a clue, but relished the surprises as they occurred. Walking through the old gateway to this religious enclave, there's interesting architecture in one direction and then superlative views across agricultural landscapes that blur and blend in the distance.
