Today, we left Rome at 7:00am for our journey to Umbria and Assisi - the home and resting place of St. Francis - a truly remarkable and holy Christian.  Upon arrival we hiked up the hill from the drop point amidst a few snow flurries and started our visit with Mass in one of the small grotto chapels near the lower Basilica.  Following our celebration we met up with a local Professor, and expert in the area, who toured us.  We started in the lower basilica (vintage 12th century), which houses the Tomb of St. Francis.  At the time of his death, he was entombed in a sarcophagus which was lowered into a well and then covered for fear that the warring neighbor of the Umbrians would steal and desecrate his body.  In more modern times, the excavated under the basilica and chiseled out the side of the well revealing the tomb for all to view and pray at.  It was a sober and humbling site.  The lower chapel fresco's were painted to reveal the life of St. Francis, but were somewhat destroyed as the friars decided to knock out the side walls to make some side chapels, and remove accordingly the middle of some of the fresco's.  We then entered the massive upper basilica - which is unheated and was quite cold in side.  The fresco's in the upper basilica represent the stories of the old and new Testament and also some of the life of St. Francis.  About 15 years ago a Magnitude 7 earthquake toppled three of the arched domes of the basilica and killed one friar and three others as they were running out of the building.  The arches were remarkably and quickly restored - about 15 tons of material had fallen, and they were able to remount about 70% of the plaster fresco's with original art.  As a sign of the times and weather, one of the Friars was waiting to start the noon Mass with his stocking cap on due to the cold and checking the time on his cell phone!
After a quick lunch we decended down the mountain to Assisi proper to view the Church of St. Mary of Angels which houses inside the original Franciscan chapel and the small room where St. Francis died.  We then toured the outer buildings which include the spot - complete with two doves in permanent and self sustaining residence, where St. Francis blessed the doves to silence during meditation, and the garden of the unique St. Franciscan thornless roses, the result of a Holy intervention during his life.  We left this wonderful Umbrian village of one of our great Saints, and returned to Rome for a quick Pizza dinner.