Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
their own swimming pools, and rent for about
520 per week during summer.
The Silve estate is at the end of a long gravel hill road, about a 20-minute drive
east of Assisi.
DINING FOR ALL TASTES
9
(Via Portica, 23; % 075-
815370; www.selfservicefororomano.com), a very popular cafeteria-style eatery.
Order one of the varied pasta selections for 5 to 6, or hit the salad bar for a
very reasonable
For cheap eats, you can first try Foro Romano
3.50. Foro Romano is just down the street from Piazza del
Comune. It claims to serve over 60,000 dishes a year, so they must be doing some-
thing right.
5
(Via San
Rufino, 4; % 075-812649; www.assisionline.com/trattoriapallotta; closed Tues)
isn't your typical tourist trap. Through an arch and at the end of an alleyway
off the piazza, this traditional Umbrian restaurant features such specialties as
strangozzi with mushroom sauce, homemade tagliatelle, gnocchi of potatoes, and
cacciatore-style rabbit. The tasting menu (without wine) is
While it's close to Piazza del Comune, Restaurant Pallotta
€€
24, and offers a great
selection of local delicacies.
Connected with the Fontemaggio campground/hostel complex a mile south
of town, La Stalla
5 9
(Via Eremo delle Carceri, 8; % 075-812317) is about as
genuine a country trattoria as you're going to find. When they say the place is a
“refurbished” barn, they mean they've moved the sheep out of the stalls. The walls
are blackened with smoke from the open fire that cooks sizzling sausages and local
game dishes, and long benches encourage fun communal dining with the mobs
from the campground. Excellent homemade gnocchi and Umbrian pastas are only
about 5 a dish.
WHY YOU'RE HERE: THE TOP SIGHTS & ATTRACTIONS
La Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of St. Francis)
555
(www.sanfrancesco
assisi.org; free admission; upper church 8:30am-6:50pm, lower church opens at
6am, Nov-Mar both closed noon-2pm and at 5:50pm) is among the must-see
sights of Europe, not only because of its magnificent Giotto frescoes but also
because it is still the second-most-important pilgrimage site in Italy (after Rome),
and third in the world (after Bethlehem). Unlike many of Italy's churches, which
have more snapshot-taking tourists than worshippers, the Basilica and Francis's
teachings attract devout pilgrims. Busloads of religious groups fill the Basilica, cel-
ebrating Mass in side chapels, kneeling at Franciscan relics, and praying silently at
altars around the church. And if there's too much talking, be prepared to hear a
voice from the heavens as “Silencio!” booms from the security guards' PA system.
To be sure, there are plenty of people visiting just to see the works of art. And
this, too, is a worthwhile pilgrimage. Seeing these frescoes, paintings, and altars
in the context of the Basilica is a much more rewarding experience than seeing
dozens of Madonna-and-Childs stacked in a museum.
The massive Basilica is split between an upper and a lower church. To first
appreciate the artistic, and then the religious, nature of the structure, I'd recom-
mend going in reverse chronological order, from the top down. Start with Giotto's
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