SLEEP ONE STEP AWAY FROM ASSISI, SPELLO MONTEFALCO, BEVAGNA, TREVI IN UMBRIA

ASSISI

To visit: the grandiose Basilica of St. Francis consisting of two overlapping churches, the Lower Basilica and the Upper Basilica. The former contains frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti and the crypt with the tomb of St. Francis. In the second to be seen is Giotto’s celebrated cycle of frescoes on the life of St. Francis;
the Church of St. Clare where the remains of the Saint are kept and the Crucifix that spoke to St. Francis in San Damiano;
the Temple of Minerva, an ancient Roman shrine with a beautiful columned facade;
the Duomo or cathedral of San Rufino in which is kept the baptismal font where tradition has it that St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized;
the Rocca Maggiore, a severe fortress that dominates from above the city and the entire valley;
the convent of San Damiano, just outside Assisi, which Francis restored with his own hands and then entrusted to St. Clare and her followers;
the Hermitage of the Carceri, 4 km from Assisi, the place where St. Francis and his companions used to retire in prayer.
Santa Maria degli Angeli, at the foot of Assisi, is worth visiting for the grandiose Basilica built around the Portiuncula, originally a small plot of land granted to St. Francis. Inside is the Chapel of the Transit where St. Francis died on Oct. 3, 1226.

SPELLO

Perched on a spur of Mount Subasio, it is a charming town that preserves traits of Roman times. Visit the Tega Chapel with 15th-century frescoes and a Crucifixion by Niccolò L’Alunno and the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore with the Baglioni Chapel inside, frescoed by Pinturicchio.

BEVAGNA

one of the “Borghi piu’ belli d’Italia,” with a distinctly medieval appearance, preserves traces of Roman layout (temple, theater, city walls, baths with mosaic pavement). In Piazza Silvestri stands out the beautiful fountain and around Roman-Gothic buildings and churches. The Paper Mill is one of the medieval workshops that give life to the Mercato delle Gaite and the only one that can be visited at any time. The environment that shows papermaking in the Middle Ages is certainly very impressive and of great historical and cultural interest. During the second fortnight of June, on the other hand, a dozen workshops of ancient crafts are open, including the silk factory that allows visitors to observe the breeding of silkworms on mulberry leaves, the mint that melts copper and silver to make coins, the apothecary with wax, herbal and distillery workshops, and the painter who uses natural pigments and egg yolk as a binder (Mercato delle Gaite).

MONTEFALCO

owes its fame to the Sagrantino grapes from which Sagrantino di Montefalco , DOCG since 1992, is made. The historic center is enclosed by well-preserved medieval walls. Visit the beautiful Piazza del Comune and the deconsecrated Church of San Francesco, now a museum-pinacoteca, which houses twelve scenes from the Life of St. Francis by Benozzo Gozzoli, a pupil of Beato Angelico, in the apse.

RASIGLIA

Situated in the Menotre Valley at 600 meters above sea level, just 18 kilometers from Foligno, Rasiglia is a village that makes water its hallmark. The Capovena spring gives rise to streams that flow by lapping the houses and branching off into canals that in ancient times provided motive power for the various activities that took place in the small village.
Wool and leather processing with tanneries and dye works made Rasiglia an important commercial center in the area.