Assisi, Stairway

Architects, masons, and stonecutters have given Assisi its incomparable appearance. The narrow streets are lined with old facades with flower bedecked balconies, and flight after flight of stairs lead from street to street in this city, built on a steep hillside. The colors of the special pink stone quarried from Mount Subasio, and used to build much of Assisi, come alive at sunset or after a rain shower.

On our fourth visit to Assisi, on our way down the hill from Camping Fontemaggio we mistakenly parked in a parking lot a mile up the hill from the Basilica. But what a surprise! A two-story, canopy covered escalator leads up the hill toward town. Can you imagine an escalator climbing the hill in a medieval city?

At the top of the escalator we walked higher through the town, then turned and walked down the hill, snaking through this most unusual city. Fruit and vegetable vendors filled market squares, pink stone houses and stores lined the narrow walkways. As we walked past buildings that are a thousand years old, we admired the window and store displays, with stylish things for sale, exhibited in an attractive manner. These stores would accept any credit card.

It turns out that parking in that upper lot, riding the escalator up the hill, then walking those miles down the hill through Assisi, was one of the best travel ideas we ever had, even if it was accidental.