Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

We drove down the hill from where we were yesterday in Assisi to the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Close–up view of the basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Virgin Mary statue on top of the basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Pope Benedict XVI banner hanging in front of the basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Doors to the basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

The basilica was built around this tiny chapel, named the Porziuncola Chapel, which is located under the basilica’s dome. The pope gave St. Francis a porziuncola (“small portion”) of land on which was a small chapel. This is where Francis lived, worked, and died. This is also the chapel that the city of Los Angeles was named for, that is, Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de Porciuncula (Our Lady of Angels of Porciuncula––we are dealing with three languages here: Italian, Spanish, and English). I even saw a directional road sign near the church that said Los Angeles on it, I assume directing one to the basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Close–up of Porziuncola Chapel.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Close–up of the beautiful frescoes.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Inside of the chapel.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Off to the side of the basilica is this statue of St. Francis. He is holding a basket that sometimes has a real dove nesting in it––today, a real dove was in it.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

The Rose Garden. This is where St. Francis threw himself on a bed of roses, with the thorns falling off the roses when he did this. The rose bushes in this garden do not have any thorns, but I didn’t see any roses in bloom here. This photo was taken through a glass partition.

Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli

On Our Way to Ravenna

From Assisi, we drove northeast through the Apennines to the Adriatic Coast to Ravenna, which is in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Along the way, I took this photo of the countryside.

On Our Way to Ravenna

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

This church is in the city of Ravenna, which was once the capital of eastern Rome. It was then taken over by the barbarians, and then in 540 A.D., it became part of the Byzantine Empire. Ravenna has a number of churches dating back to Byzantine times that are decorated with beautiful mosaics. We visited the Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe, one of these churches. This church was built 1000 years before the Sistine Chapel.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

The front of the church. It is very plain on the outside.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Inside the church decorated with mosaics.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Another view of inside the church. There were many school groups visiting here. We ran into school groups in many places on our tour. Paolo said that when school is out, the school groups are just replaced by more tourists.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Mosaics under the dome.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Closer–up of the mosaics under the dome.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Another close–up of the mosaics under the dome.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

View of the columns inside the church.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Closer–up view of the mosaics.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Wall mosaics.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

One of the stone caskets in the church.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Another of the stone caskets in the church.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Part of the original church floor.

Church of Sant’ Apollinaris in Classe

Ristorante S. Apollinare

We had lunch outside in the patio at this restaurant across the street from the church. We had lasagna––very light and mild in flavor, salad, ice cream, and wine, coke, or beer––for 11 Euros. The lasagna was very good and you can find the recipe for it at the restaurant’s website: www.s–apollinare.it. From Ravenna, well–fortified, we drove along the Adriatic Coast to VENICE!

Ristorante S. Apollinare

Fishing Shack

We drove from Ravenna along the Adriatic Coast to Venice, which is the Veneto Region of Italy. We passed these fishing shacks along the way.

Fishing Shack

Venice

We have arrived in Venice and it is truly beautiful here. We were very lucky––two days earlier Venice was flooded and we wouldn’t have been able to get here and two days later there was a rain storm. We took a boat from near where our hotel was to one of the gondola docks for an optional Gondola Serenade. A singer was hired to serenade us. I was surprised––I really thought that all the gondoliers sang! We paid 30 euros each for the gondola ride and it was well worth it considering how much we would have paid to go on our own. I have put both a slide show on this site: Go to Slide Shows, Western Europe, Italy–2, “Venice: Gondola Ride” and three movie clips of the Gondola Serenade: Go to Movies, Western Europe, Italy, “Gondola Serenade–1, –2, and –3, Venice.”

Venice

Gondola Serenade

A photo of our gondola singer.

Gondola Serenade

Venice At Night

We went back to our hotel for dinner and then there was an optional Venice by Night with Cruise Along the Grand Canal which I went on. I have put my photos of the cruise on a slide show on this site: Go to Slide Shows, Western Europe, Italy–2, “Venice: Night Cruise Along the Grand Canal.” This photo shows us starting out on our night cruise.

Venice At Night

Venice At Night

Part of the last photo blown–up. After our night cruise, we were let off at St. Mark’s Square for a drink and some music. At night, at the square, there are orchestras playing at the sidewalk cafes. I have put a movie clip of an orchestra on my site: Go to Movies, Western Europe, Italy, “St. Mark’s Square Orchestra.” After strolling around St. Mark’s Square, we got back on our boat and back to our hotel.

Venice At Night