Day 32 - Mon 29 Sep 25: Spoleta (Assisi)

September 29, 2025

Mon 29 Sep 25: Spoleta (Assisi)

We had breakfast at 0730am this morning, then after catching up on the blog from yesterday, we left on the bus for Assisi at 09:00am, an easy 45 minute drive away. On arrival, we walked up the steep roads to the St. Francis of Assisi Basilica, where we met our local tour guide for a walk through the Lower and Upper level churches of the Basilica (Yes two levels - it's massive). Unfortunately, no photos were allowed to be taken inside. The painted frescos were amazing, including Giotto's famous Life of Saint Francis cycle in the nave of the Upper Church. St. Francis of Assisi is known for founding the Franciscan Order, his deep love and care for animals and nature, his embrace of poverty and service to the poor, and his devotion to God. After our 45 minute guided tour, we continued into the narrow cobble-stone streets of Assisi where we had 2 hours free time. Noeleene spent her time with a lady from our group who is travelling alone (Lyn), while I headed to the highest point to the check out the views from around the Castle, then returned to wander the narrow streets of Assisi. We left Assisi at 1pm, returning to the hotel at Spoleto, and after doing a little washing, I headed out to explore more of Spoleto and a nearby historical Aquaduct, while Noeleene and Lyn went shopping. I wrapped up a wonderful day of sightseeing having a beer with Alan his wife Marg in a town square, then returned for dinner at a nearby restaurant (about 100m from the hotel) with Alan and Marg, and another couple from Canberra. Unfortunately, the restaurant (as with most in Italy) didn't open until 7:30pm, making for another late night. Tomorrow we leave Spoleto for the Amalfi Coast with a visit in the afternoon to Pompei.