Friday, December 14, 2007

Rivotorto

Assisi seen below from the road to Rivotorto

When Francis and his first companions returned from Rome with their initial rule of life having been approved they settled for a while in some disused farm buildings, until they were taken over by a farmer for his pigs. These buildings were much later reconstructed as the Tugurio in the church in Rivotorto.

My plan was to take the bus to Rivotoro, then walk up quiet country roads to San Damiano for vespers. First problem was that the bus terminated at Santa Maria degli Angeli station - because the road to Rivotorto was closed for a few days. So I walked. Then when I got to the church the Tugurio was closed for repair so I couldn't see it. Not a great loss really. There are some fine bronze statutes of Francis outside the church - Francis and the leper and Francis and the birds.

Francis and the birds - at Rivotorto


Francis and the Leper - Assisi is in the background

The quiet country roads up to San Damiano were not so quiet because the main road being closed they had a lot of extra heavy traffic.

From the road to San Damiano

But vespers at San Damiano was very beautiful, as almost any liturgy in that holy space could be.

Francis sits meditating outside San Damiano

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