Italy Bellissimo Travelogue, continued

Day 5 of Tour- Isle of Capri, Naples, Cassino, Perugia and Assisi

The ferry ride to Naples was a breeze. The sea was calm that the ferry just plowed through the Mediterranean carrying mostly workers from the island to the city of Naples. My foodie friend was hoping we lingered a bit in the city for her to get a bite of the famous Neapolitan pizza. We decided perhaps someday, we will just have to make another trip to this city for that. Our bus was waiting for us just outside the pier and we were on the road again to reach our final destination of Assisi. We made a quick stop in the Commonwealth War Cemetery. This was the final resting place of the the British Commonwealth soldiers who perished during World War II. Here, I was utterly taken aback by my son's reaction. He was teary- eyed as we walked along the grounds, glancing at the names of soldiers who didn't have any ties to us. They weren't American soldiers but my son shed tears for them. The tragedy of so many lives lost because of illogical reasons just got to him. Whoever said young people these days don't have any empathy was wrong after all.

The Cassino Commonwealth Cemetery.

After a solemn 20 minute stop in Cassino, we proceeded north to the historic city of Perugia to visit Laboratorio Giuditta Brozzetti where we marveled at a demonstration of Italy's traditional weaving methods and saw the last remaining hand weaving wooden- frame.

Italy's almost extinct art of hand- weaving.

It had been a long day and when we caught sight of the beautiful hill-top town of Assisi, it was a relief! We finally arrived in the birth place of the beloved patron saint of Italy. Our hotel was very modern that you wouldn't even guess it first opened in 1954 to offer accommodations to pilgrims following St. Francis' footsteps.

Photos during our walk from Hotel Cenacolo the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

The town of Assisi was very quiet. It was our free time, so we headed to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli. It was in this church where young Francis received his calling. It housed the chiesetta (little church) of Porziuncola (little portion)- the most scared place for the Franciscans. Inside the church was also The Capella del Transito which was a small chapel where Francis died. Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic school, I never imagined that I'd be able to see what I had seen during this trip. An overwhelming feeling of gratefulness engulfed me while I was inside the walls of the church, walking past his rose gardens and walking in the grounds where this humble man once lived. My son who admittedly hadn't been a practicing Catholic since leaving home, inferred that one of the doves around St. Francis' statue was the Holy Spirit.

No photography allowed inside the Basilica.

Soon after we exited the church, our human selves were on a mission to find good Italian food and gelato and surely we did. It was starting to drizzle and it was getting dark so we headed back to our hotel and called it a night.

Tags: #Travelogue #Wanderlust #ItalyBellissimo #Capri #Naples #Cassino #CassinoCommonwealthCemetery #Perugia #handweaving #lostart #Assisi #belovedsaint #patronsaintofitaly #basilica #gelato #Italy

Up Next: Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi and Venice