Last days in Assisi.....Saying Arrivederci...

My last days in Assisi were spent walking and absorbing what I had missed in my 3 week stay there.
Seeing my new friends one last time and of course, toasting with them to their great country of Italia!

I walked to San Damiano.....a monastery I had missed earlier which is right outside the gates of Assisi.
The church and convent of San Damiano is where it all began in Assisi. As the place where St. Francis first received his miraculous calling in 1205 and where St. Clare died in 1253, it is an important stop on the pilgrimage to the Franciscan holy city. The simple oratory is located in a beautiful setting just outside the walls of Assisi.
 The originally hosted a small Benedictine priory, documented since 1030. In 1205, in its dilapidated old oratory, a young and restless Francesco was praying before a 12th-century painted crucifix. Suddenly, the Christ on the crucifix came to life and spoke to Francis, saying, "Rebuild my church."
Francis took the command literally at first, reconstructing the little church with his own hands. The church later became a favorite retreat for Francis and his followers and it was here that he wrote the first draft of his celebrated Canticle of the Creatures.
St. Clare, follower and close friend of Francis, founded her Order of the Poor Clares here at San Damiano in 1212. She lived here most of her life as its abbess and passed away in an upstairs room on August 11, 1253. Her body was transferred a few years later to the Basilica di Santa Chiara, constructed in her honor.

Then I walked miles and miles to just absorb the heart of the city.

Spending an afternoon with Andrea on her terrace with proscecco and an Assisi sky!

 

 

On my last night in Italy, we went to a wonderful restaurant for a an even more wonderful meal, bottle of wine and reminisced about the trip!

 

So...................until next time sweet Italy, I bid you farewell.  You opened up your heart to me and I will cherish the memories forever


"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." --Anna Akhmatova

 

ARRIVEDERCI!!!!

CIAO!!

 

I will be back to post about my first two weeks of the trip where I participated in a Women's Retreat with 9 other women from other parts of the country!