Jews Saved in Assissi in WW2 and Catholic Resistance To euthanasia

When I went to Umbria, the part of Italy associated with Francis of Assisi, I could see interesting stories about Francis of Assisi everywhere. We saw paintings, murals, stained glass windows. statues of Francis with birds. And the stone bed where he slept. 

This was all in a trip around Perugia, the capital of Umbria, to show us the less well known parts of Umbria.

Assisi was already well known, with its giant basilica.

Basilica of St Francis of Assisi in Assisi. Wiki.

Yes Umbria has a few surprises. Perugia, the capital, at least the capital for students learning the Italian language at the university, is a classic hilltop city. The cathedral is at the top. Seen from afar.

but come closer. Enter the city.

Etruscan Entrance

Even more striking and unusual is the giant Etruscan gateway, the entrance to the city, built into the sheer cliffside. 

You can see how large it is compared to the people. The angle of this photo shows the sky above. However, when you are near it, you can see the sheer cliff face behind it on the left.

Underground City

Plus the underground tunnels of the old underground Etruscan city, now an underground market place.

 There the delights of modern Italy cannot erase the awe you feel at going underground to the hidden city of people who lived so long ago that we have only little statues to tell us who they were and what they did. 

(Along came the Romans. As we all know, the Romans were the winners, with straight roads, efficiency and ruthlessness later associated with Germans.) The association of Rome with Romance came later.

Meanwhile, what of the kindly caring ascetic Francis who talked to the birds and lived simply and founded the order of Franciscans, Yes, it is easy to find plenty online and in person about St Francis the birthplace and burial place of St Francis of Assisi in the main centre of Assisi.

What I didn't know was the Assisi's secret stories, that Assisi also had a Jewish connection in WWII. Hiding Jews in far off monasteries and convents to save them.

Useful website
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisi_Network
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_resistance_to_Nazi_Germany
http://www.visit-assisi.it/en/
umbriatourism.it
http://www.montesubasio.it/en/assisi-christmas-nativity/
http://www.italia.it/en/home.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi

Author
Angela Lansbury, Travel Writer and Photographer, author and speaker. Please save and share links to your favourite posts.
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

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Top Ten places to spend Christmas? Santas, Elves, Mangers, Trees or BBQ on the Beach?

Christmas street Lights in London, England. 2106. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Problem
Where do I go for Christmas?
Nazareth? Maybe save a trip to the Middle East for Easter. 'I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.'

Answers
Christmas themes and traditions

1 Assissi in Italy
- 'away in a manger',  birthplace and burial place of St Francis of Assisi. Midnight mass in a Cathedral.
Assissi and the Vatican too busy? Come to Perugia, and Umbria, says the tourist board.

2 London, England -
 Carol singing under the Norway spruce and stars at Trafalgar Square. Pantomimes in theatres in the warm. Lights in Regent Street and Oxford Street. Window displays at Selfridges, Harrods and Hamleys.

London, England. Trafalgar Square with tree and illuminated fountain. Wikipedia.

London Street lights. 2017. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

3 America -
For giant scenes of Santas galloping in neon lights across rooftops; and skyscrapers lit like candles and parcels. Go north towards Canada, New York, Washington DC, for springtime snow. Go south to Florida for warmth.

Ohio, USA. Photo from Wikipedia.

4 Santas' grotto in Finland.
5 Singapore -
Every shopping mall is lit from floor to ceiling. So are the atriums of skyscraper hotels.
6 Elves Hideaway
in Finland.

Elves Hideaway, Finland. Photo courtesy of the company.

Get Away From It All Christmas

7 Spain,
Europe for a quieter Christmas in December - celebrating Jan 6
8 Russia -
celebrating Grandfather Frost.
9 Scotland -
More fuss over New Year in Edinburgh.
10 Australia -
For guaranteed warm weather on the opposite side of the globe, BBQ by pool or beach.

Finally, home sweet home, in your own home or a holiday hotel suite. Celebrate and watch the Queen's speech; or celebrate not having to work and write your memoirs or great novel, fast instead of feast and ignore the frenzy.

Those who are not Christian, such as Orthodox Jews, often offer to take over in hospitals so that Christian hospital staff can spend Christmas Day with their own families. It was a source of surprise and amusement to me to learn that the Santa in costume visiting sick children in hospital in London's East End on Christmas Day is often an Orthodox Jew performing a mitzvah (good deed). Now the Moslems and Hindus, agnostics and atheists can offer their services.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other travel blog:
http://luxurytravelforless.co.uk

Christmas and St Francis of Assisi in Assisi, in Umbria, Italy

My Souvenir of St Francis of Assisi. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Note that the Italian for Francis is Francisco. Copyright.

St Francis of Assisi and Christmas Updates on Umbria: 
The tourist board wants visitors from the UK, Europe, Americana, Cina, Asia and the world to consider Umbria for Christmas. Umbria is land-locked, no seas and beaches. But it does have spas and castles and magnificent chtuches and St Francis of Assissi.

Expect every church and Cathedral to celebrate Christmas, many with models of the manger and animals so beloved by Francis of Assissi. The area is full of churches and museums associated with St Francis, wtih murals and stained glass windows. 

You can even see the places where he preached otudoors to the birds in the field, and the stone bench he slept on. Plus his large birthplace in Assissi. 

See my previous posts on Perugia.So there's the history for you, for a traditional Christmas. You can travel back in time to the days of St Francis of Assisi, or back before the Romans introduced Christianity. (See my previous posts on the Etruscans.)

Where to visit:

Assisi
1 Birthplace of St Francis, in Assisi
2 Death place / tomb of St Francis of Assisi, in Assisi
3 The place where he slept on a stone bench
4 Museum

Websites and links:
 @UmbriaTourism and #loveUmbria
See my other travel website:
www.luxurytravelforless.co.uk

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Valentine's Day, Romance and Honeymoons in Italy

Problem
What can you do that's different or Valentine's Day?

Answer
Go to Italy to see where St Valentine is remembered and preserved. A surprise trip to Italy, or an envelope with tickets for a trip later in the year.

Story
St Valentine - preserved in Italy? Yes. The body of St Valentine is preserved and venerated in Italy in the Umbria-Tuscany region (near Florence with its romantic bridges and Roma with its Trevi fountain and romantic cliffside, clifftop Perugia, if you want a few days drive taking in all three).

Romantic Umbria
Where can you stay that's romantic? Umbria, which I visited on a delightful press trip, has a restored castle Hotel Monterone. It has everything you want from a castle, a suit of armour, a remote locations with view over the valley to Perugia, (but a road outside - for quiet and best view pick a valley side room), a fine restaurant, battlements, rustic bedroom furniture, every mod con in the bathroom including a bidet in the room I had.

Or if you prefer all mod cons, a modern hotel with a spa where you can swim outdoors under the stars, whilst being pummelled by sensual underwater jets. This spa has much more, interior spa rooms with massage jets.

If you've got the money and time, book well ahead to secure a room at a hotel I did not visit because it was fully booked, which has a spa with Roman ruins visible under the water. See it on Tripadvisor.

But in this region every mountain top has cobbled streets and little tavernas serving local delicacies, such as truffle, for special occasions. You can opt for a more personal farm stay with a family who grow saffron.

St Francis of Assisi
Do you like animals? At Assissi you can visit the impressive buildings at Sat Francis of Assisi's birthplace and mausoleum. Animal loving St Francis of Assissi popularised the animals in the manger at Christmas in Italy, England and worldwide. Other wonderful hilltop cities have magnificent frescoes about his life.

As a teenager I often heard romantic but often rather gruesome stories about St Valentine. He sent notes to his beloved. He was imprisoned. She was his love. He later died, or rather as every body in history died at some point later, he died early and young. After reading through all the various contradictory or unrelated stories in Wikipedia, I have come to the conclusion that the body of Valentine is real but the stories about him come from an era earlier than his lifetime, or were added later. Never mind. Most people can't tell you the truth about their own family's eye colour, or the colour of the clothes they were yesterday. I am willing to go along with any romantic story about a romantic weekend or week in Italy, including a visit to St Valentine.

So let's look at St Valentine in Italy. Valentino sounds good.

Finally, if you want to get married, you can stay in an antique filled ba and b in a house with murals and a chapel. It's like living in a cathedral annexe. In a row of shops on the small main square, where everybody knows everywhere, I asked to see a hotel. We walked to a shop, knocked for entry through a glass door through the owner's ground kitchen, through a courtyard filled with flowerpots and probably if my memory serves me rightly, a snoozing cat and the odd piece of a statue, up a wrought iron staircase to a reception room with classical busts, through an entry hall with a decorated ceiling, looked into the chapel, and were shown two bedroom which looked like miniature chapels with double beds decorated with quilts and en suite shower rooms in bright colours with modern loos. You get the idea. I may have the details wrong. A combination of rustic and magnificent, small and huge. A jaw-dropping place. Eye-popping. The wow factor. Guarantee you have never seen anything like it.Romantic? For Valentine's, a wedding or renewal of vows in a chapel on the spot (obviously must book the chapel and paperwork for a marriage) honeymoon,

1 Hotel Monterone
2 Two Spa hotels:
3 Small town antique filled b & b with chapel.
4 Farm stay coutryside saffron grower b and b.
Umbria Tourist Board
umbriatourism.it
(Post under construction. More text and pictures later. See my previous posts on Umbria)

Italian Tourist Board

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Italian Food, Fun and Fears in Umbria - How Journalists Fared How Nutella Chocolate Spread, Chocolate from Perugia, and Promoting Tourism in Umbria, Italy

I discovered Umbrian chocolate, the stories of Francis of Assisi, and more about Etruscans and earthquakes and Perugia and when I was taken on a trip to Umbria by the tourist board. I travelled with four other journalists, all with different hopes and fears.

The Health of Journalists and Tourists
We should have been half a dozen but one had a minor injury before the trip and the tourist board sensibly decided it was better for her to take her on another trip later when she was fully recovered. I can see that bouncing in a bus or slipping on wet cobbles is not a good idea and could cause those caring for her and everybody less worry and risk of diversion and expense.

Cycling, Sports or Culture?
I'd been to a press do at a hotel in London where the whole evening we watched a backdrop of a film of cyclists. I had feared I would be set on a sporting holiday. But I was on an action-packed cultural trip. I nearly said non-stop, but we had frequent stops - not to do nothing but see local scenic spots, panoramas from hilltop terraces!

I had heard that Umbria was 'the heart of Italy'. I imagined a series of mountains like a backbone down the centre. When I got to Perugia I learned that the city is built on more than seven hills, like Rome and many cities (Jerusalem?). They say that Perugia is like the fingers of your hand. One Italian man told us, 'You go home setting off downhill (from your restaurant or friends' house or meeting room or classroom), then uphill again to your own home!'

At first I was disappointed not to see Assisi which is both the birthplace and burial place of St Francis of Assisi. 'Away in a manger' as the song says, would be very seasonal and suitable story with Christmas coming up. But I was delighted when it turned out that we saw a much less well known hovel where Sir Francis slept.

We also saw a church with a painting of him. Probably dozens of churches in the Umbria area feature local hero St Francis. Umbria and Italy have an entire St Francis of Assisi trail which can be as short as an afternoon or spread over several days or weeks, taken by devout Catholics, historians, and those who want a trip with a focus or theme. A brochure which you see in many places gives the St Francis of Assisi route.

Hill Climbing Made Easy
We all looked fit and healthy when we arrived. It transpired that one person walked with difficulty and was due for a (hip?) operation - but managed all the uphill climbs admirably.

Once we went up a funicular. Not scary at all. Trees both sides. I was pleased within they cleared so you could see the view. I loved it.

If you are over seventy or overweight you might think all that uphill walking on hilltop villages and cities would be a strain. I managed all of it. I did not tell them that I have had multiple injuries in a car accident. I did not mention that I have weak ankles. I wear flat shoes. I am not a risk taker. Given a choice I don't ride bicycles, chairlifts, horses, nor even donkeys. Faced with steep stairs I recall falling down the stairs at home as a toddler. (I don't actually recall it. But my mother told me about it daily.) I ride lifts (elevators). The streets are so full of places to stop and photograph that you amble along.

The only time I chickened out in Umbria was at a darkened doorway opening onto a descent down a slope into an underground Roman water cistern, with no proper steps, just strips of wood or stone to help the feet of donkeys. I wasn't claustrophobia. It was the thought that I'd slide down, hit a wall, no rope or banister to grab. Plus I needed a toilet and did not want to slip and wet myself.

Gluten Free Food Demands Met
Another journalist needed gluten free food which was provided at every venue. Most restaurants provided a cold starter, then pasta, and a main course cooked to order. They gave her special non wheat 'breads' and other dishes cooked on demand, with no prior notice, always mentioned after we arrived. No problem.

Shellfish And Allergies
One person was allergic to shellfish (crustaceans and molluscs) - that's me. As Umbria is landlocked the amount of shellfish was far less than you would get in neighbouring Tuscany and other coastal areas.

Pork and Meats
Pork is the most popular meat. You get salamis on a cheeseboard alongside hard cheese. Sheep's cheese is popular. Looking out of the restaurant windows at the slopes outside, I could appreciate that sheep and nibble-footed goats would be more likely to be at home here than cows.

On the meat side of the board by the salamis are rolled up cured ham, looking like Parma ham. I found it was stringy and got in my teeth. But I must admit the meats were very tasty. Main dishes also featured a lot of pork.

Meat-free, Vegan, Fruit and Vegetables
Another person had been in remission from cancer and chemo and was still into fresh fruit and veg and no processed meats. He survived by eating lots of fruit at breakfast. At lunch and dinner starters were salami and cheese. You don't usually get spaghetti Bolognese with salad. That's not a local Italian dish. But lots of other pastas are. Once we had a pesto sauce. Anti pasta mostly came with only a piece of watercress. Tomatoes were often on the side.

What other vegetable options? Lentil soup appeared on one or two menus. If you were having a choice from the menu, instead of being treated to a set meal as we were, you might go for a vegetarian main course for one of you if you are a couple travelling together.

More information from
www.umbriatourism.it
Please read my other posts on Umbria and travel and restaurants, food and wine and museums. I have other blogs.
You can also see me, link to me and follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTUbe. My books are on Lulu and Amazon. Please follow me. For more about Francis of Assisi, Amanda Knox, earthquakes and chocolates, see later posts.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Umbria, Italy

St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182–1226)
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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