We took an early train out of Rome to the birth place of St. Francis of Assisi who founded the Franciscan order. For those that are not familiar with the Franciscan order, they are friars that believe in a very modest and simple life in order to worship God.

The town of Assisi is about a 4 hour train ride north of Rome. It’s located in the Umbria region. The landscape of Umbria is as beautiful as the Tuscan country side but without the amount of overwhelming tourists.

Assisi is a very charming Italian city. The town feels almost frozen in time and has such a spiritual quality to it. It made for a great one night stopover on our way to Florence.

The main attraction of Assisi is the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi built in honor of St. Francis. Built on the edge of the town, it consists of two churches, the upper and lower each with its own style. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the Churches.

The upper church has frescos of the life of St. Francis.

The lower church is still being used today for mass and also houses the actual tomb of St. Francis. It was eye opening to venture down to the crypts of the church and still feel the somber environment of the tomb and how sad people were when walking pass St. Francis’ final resting place.

Built on a hill, Assisi has one of the most amazing views from the top of the  town.

Still revered greatly today, the on going theme of the town was the father of the Franciscan order.

They were selling these marshmallow-like cakes everywhere so we decided to try. It was really dense and sweet. Definitely geared towards people with a sweet tooth. We got the pistachio flavor.

After receiving a huge dose of sugar. We continued to explored the many hidden back streets of the old town.

Tired of eating so much Italian food, we finished off the day at a beer and hamburger restaurant near our hotel (Umami Beer). The burgers were delicious. They used a special meat combination patty of 80% beef and 20% pork which made it really juicy.

Craft beers, home made chips, and a hearty hamburger definitely gave us a taste of home.

If you ever visit Italy and have extra time, I’d highly recommend you get off the beaten path and check out Assisi. It gets you away from the crowds and really offers a spiritual aspect of an old Italian town. The views from the top of the town was amazing and the people were really friendly.

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