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Assisi
should be a perfect Umbrian hill town. It's a tiered, overgrown
village of pink and pale-gray stone drawn out along a mountainside
and surrounded by a valley patchwork of fields and olive groves. It
boasts Roman roots, a glowering castle and twisting alleyways from
the Middle Ages, and some of Italy's finest early Renaissance
art--all backed by the brilliant green slope of sacred Mt. Subasio.
But this city with a population of less than 3,000 (and shrinking)
has, in the late 20th century, seen an average of 4 to 5 million
visitors every year. This constant flood of travelers has polished
the usual hill-town charm right off Assisi.
Assisi preserves the remarkably intact portico of a Roman temple on
its main square, one of the better-preserved Albornoz Roccas with
sweeping views, and a two-story basilica hulking at one end of town
that's a festival of frescoes. The basilica showcases the talents of
the greatest geniuses of the early Renaissance, both Sienese (Pietro
Lorenzetti and Simone Martini) and Florentine (Cimabue and the
incomparable Giotto). |
