Last weekend a few friends of mine and I took a day trip to Assisi, Italy. It turned out to be a beautiful day with clear skies and cool temperatures. Going to Assisi was recommended by one of my friend’s mother who had visited there before and said it was her favorite place in all of Italy. To get there, we went to Termini (the main train station in Rome) and used the easy self-service ticket machine to buy our trip to Assisi. It only cost nine euro each way for a two and a half hour train ride. I think it’s pretty neat how you can go to so many random places with rich culture and sites for affordable prices. There aren’t many places back home that I’d want to take a day trip too, let alone places that are accessible by public transportation. That’s one thing that I love about Rome…the list of things to do and see never gets completed because there always something new being added to the list.
After our relaxing train ride, we finally arrived in Assisi. The first view of it from down below was really neat because it was this whole town on top of a hill. The surrounding views gave us a taste of the countryside in Umbria. There was not a marble statue or giant building (other than churches) in sight, so it was definitely a change from Rome.
Here is a little excerpt about Assisi taken from www.sacred-destinations.com:
“Assisi is a small Umbrian town in central Italy and is best known as the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi – patron saint of Italy, founder of the Franciscan order, and one of the most popular Catholic saints in history. Assisi’s main attraction is the 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco, which contains the sacred relics of Francis and beautiful frescoes of his life. The town of Assisi, with its Roman ruins, winding medieval streets, and sacred shrines, have been a major Catholic pilgrimage destination for centuries and is today one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.”
If you’re thinking about doing the Temple Rome program, I highly suggest looking into travel to the smaller towns right in the backyard of Rome. There are many hidden gems in Italy and I am glad I was able to see one and experience it for a whole day with friends from the program.
