Note: This post is based on notes I made on Sunday, April 1, 2007 in Cortona and Assisi.

Sunday, Day 5. One thing I have found is that in traveling, often the side trips are just as good, if not better than the place you were actually planning to see. One of the distinguishing features of the Tuscan landscape is the hill towns that cropped up in the most defensive portions of the countryside. Cortona is actually the town you’ll see in the film Under the Tuscan Sun.” Hill towns are terribly pretty to look at, but they are all hell to walk through. When someone tells me a story about how hard it was to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow, I’ll just smile to myself and think, fuck that man… I’ve walked Cortona.

Assisi is another hill town, but obviously famous for a different reason. The Basically of St. Francis is one of those places you just sort of stand in front of in amazement. It wasn’t the biggest cathedral of the tour. It certainly wasn’t the most decorative or detailed, but there was a quiet majesty to the place. Something I can’t quite place. Construction was underway by the late 12th century and its frescos show some of the first use of perspective in large scale art in European history. St Francis, of course, was the original rebel of the church and paved the way for those who followed such as Dante and Luther. Other than being considered malcontents for much of their history, the Franciscans tenants are a little tough to live by…Poverty, chastity, and obedience… Not so much my strong suit.