The current pope is called Pope Francis. I have a trip planned to Italy so I have been looking up famous people and places associated with those people. Today I searched for Francis of Assisi and Assisi.
Assisi is about half an hour away from Perugia, the university town in Umbria where foreign students go to learn Italian. I am learning Italian online through a website called Duolingo. (If you don't know where Perugia is, it is in the mountainous backbone of central Italy in the region of Rome.)
Everybody knows of Francis of Assisi. I associate him with the animals in the manger portrayed in Catholic churches at Christmas time. According to Wikipedia:
Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first live nativity scene in 1223.
In Assisi you can visit churches associated with the saint's place and date of birth as well as his place and date of death. I found a company which specialises in tours of Francis of Assisi.
Birthplace
Birthplace of St Francis of Assisi, in Assisi. Photo in Wikipedia - author Tetrakys - oops I'm having trouble with seeing and spelling this word today so please refer back to Wikipedia.
His burial place is a huge basilica, which, like the word cathedral, means or implies an architectural style - a basilica being a grand building, having an oblong interior with columns, usually also a curved exterior, and, like a cathedral, being a church building granted a certain status.
The Name Francis
The name Francis means French and St Francis was given the name Francis by his father who was French. The French or Franks were probably called Francs meaning free people.
In earlier centuries famous people called Francis included Sir Francis Drake.
In modern times, in England we have had comedian Frankie Howard. In America, we have singer and actor Frank Sinatra.
In England Francis is a boy's name and the equivalent for a girl in Frances. How do you remember which spelling is for the boy and which is for the girl? I is for him and e is for her.
The name Francis is popular in Europe, especially in Catholic countries where people are given a saint's name for their birthday.
The American city of San Francisco (Spanish) is St Francis.
The name St Francis in English translates into other languages, eg San Francesco (Italian).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_(given_name)
http://www.stefanorometours.com/blog/2010/01/tour-of-assisi-the-fascinating-birthplace-of-st-francis/
http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/626/title/the-way-of-st-francis
More information from
umbriatourism.it
I'll add photos and more information on St Francis, Umbria, Italy and learning Italian in later posts.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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