I can’t believe that I’ve been in Italy 20 days and I have yet to set foot in a church.

Mom likes to tease me by noting that, “For a person who never goes to church at home, you sure do like to visit them when we are traveling.” She’s right. And do you know why? In Europe, the Catholic churches are the palaces of the people.

Where the nobility kept their art treasures locked behind enormous gates and walls, the Catholic Church displayed theirs in chapels, on ceilings and behind altars. Plus, those dusty old Popes and Archbishops had LOTS of money, so they were the ones who could commission the great painters, architects and sculptors at the time.

Churches made great art accessible to the masses.

We saw some great examples of my point of view yesterday during our visit to Assisi.

We had arranged for Miriam (our guide on our day of Chianti wine and olive oil tasting) to take us to Assisi for a day trip and once again, she did not disappoint.

She met us in the main plaza of Tavernelle Val di Pesa, attired a bit more conservatively than last time (she told me that she was recovering from a bout of the flu), but wearing a pair of KILLER black boots. After quick introductions with Deborah, and an inquiry after Louise, plus a brief overview of the proposed schedule, we hit the road.

Our route took us past Monteriggori (a cool fortress on a hill, but according to Miriam, not worth visiting), Siena (worth the drive, she said) and into Umbria. There, Miriam pointed out the differences between the topography of Tuscany and Umbria, with Umbria being a more arid climate and less suited to growing grapes. Here is where you would find crops like grains and legumes, and lots of fruit orchards.

She also noted the presence of hot springs in the area, and a number of “not fancy” spas where people can enjoy the warm waters in the fall and winter. She recommended we consider visiting Rapolano Terme (“terme” meaning hot springs) to test out the public “pool” there.

We made a brief stop in Passignano, a lovely resort town on the shores of Lake Trasimeno, for coffee and a quick photo op. Apparently this is a favorite destination for visitors from Northern Europe (Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, etc.) to escape the cold and gloom of the winter months.

Next, we passed Perugia, home of Nutella and Baci chocolate, and apparently where people go to shop for EVERYTHING — clothing, luxury cars, bathroom fixtures, concrete statuary — based on the retail businesses that line the local highway.

Finally, we arrived at Assisi. Our first stop was the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a gorgeous 16th Century cathedral which features multiple side chapels with frescos and paintings depicting various saints and their good deeds, as well as Biblical stories.

The basilica also houses La Porziuncola, a richly painted small church which was founded by St. Francis. There, according to oral histories, St. Francis baptized St. Clare and his original group of Franciscan friars. At some point after St. Francis’s death, the church was dismantled and moved to its present location in the center of the basilica.

[I would like to share some photos, but I’m probably one of the few Americans visiting the basilica who actually paid attention to the signs requesting that visitors not take photos, use their cell phones or selfie sticks.  I actually observed an entire tour group from somewhere in Michigan walk past the multiple signs, remark on them and promptly pull out their cameras and begin snapping photos.]

After spending about 30 minutes in Santa Maria degli Angeli, we loaded back into Miriam’s van and wound our way up to the top of the hill to Assisi’s old town.

We had a minor setback when Miriam arrived at her normal drop-off site and realized that particular city gate was closed due to a Saturday market. For the next 20 or so minutes we got to observe Miriam’s skill at maneuvering her large vehicle through twisty, narrow streets with really sharp angles — and in one case, having to back up to take an extreme right turn. There were a few moments when I was convinced that we would leave a coat of gray paint on one of the walls. But Miriam rocked it.

She dropped us off in the main town square with some rudimentary directions to the Basilica, and where to meet her in 4 hours. Then, we set off on foot to wind our way through the town and to the very top of the hill upon which it sits.

A very nice gentleman in one of the little stops we visited recommended that we take the “high road” from the square up to the Basilica, and stop at a restaurant for lunch along the way. He said that the initial climb might be a bit steep, but that route offered “a panorama.” Boy was he right.

And he was right about the restaurant, too. As we sampled our traditional Umbrian favorites (Papperdelle with wild boar sauce for me and fluffy, pillow-like gnocchi with asparagus in cream sauce for mom), we enjoyed a million-dollar view over the valley below.

We resumed our climb after lunch and about 5 minutes later, we arrived at the Basilica San Francesco di Assisi.

Beautiful! Again, no photos of the interior, but I can tell you that the frescoes were lush and colorful; some were in the process of being restored and others looked as if they had not been touched since they were originally painted in the 13th and 14th Century. Plus, the seats in the choir area for nobility and church officials, and the lectern, were richly carved and inlaid with wood to depict the woodland creatures the saint loved so well.

We decided to take a pass on seeing the crypt (too crowded), so we returned to the sunlight, made our way down the final hill and met up with Miriam too begin our trip back to Tavernelle Val di Pesa.

It was a lovely day, and one marked by beautiful scenery and peaceful strolls through an ancient hilltop city. I’d definitely recommend a visit to Assisi to anyone considering a trip to Umbria. And I’d gladly recommend Miriam — very knowledgeable, lots of fun and a helluva driver!

Ciao!