Francesco’s places
4 days / 3 nights GUBBIO – ASSISI
First day– GUBBIO
Electric car delivery to airport/station/hotel
Chek – in at 11.00 am to the hotel
City tour with special attention to Francesco’s places: the church of St. Francesco, the church of St. Francesco della Pace, Chirch of the Vittorina, the Cathedral of Gubbio, the Basilica of St. Ubaldo, Abbey Vallingegno (in Gubbio). The Basilica of St. Francesco, the Basilica of St. Rufino, the Basilica of St. Chiara (in Assisi).
February 1207 in a hard winter, Francesco covered by a rough and long shirt, went through the hills between Gubbio and Assisi. After walking for three days he reached the house of his friend Federico Spada (nicknamed Spadalonga). Here he was refreshed and coated with a tunic made of a poor and rough cloth of gray color, which will represent the first dress of the Franciscan Order.
The tour continues to the chirch of St. Francesco della Pace, where there is the sarcophagus of the wolf tamed by the saint. There were so many wolves in Gubbio, one in particular scared the inhabitants…Francesco met the wolf: “Fratello Lupo perché hai fatto del male ai tuoi fratelli uomini? Tutti ti odiano Fratello Lupo, hanno paura tutti di te, devi smetterla. … io sono tuo fratello e voglio che ci sia pace fra te e gli uomini, così sarete tutti tranquilli in questa città”. When the Wolf realized his mistake shook his head, it was then that Francesco told the inhabitants of Gubbio: “Il Lupo vuole vivere in pace con voi, lo desidera veramente. L’importante che mi promettiate che voi gli darete da mangiare al vostro nuovo Fratello”. From that day, thanks to Francesco and to the good will of both the Wolf and the citizens of Gubbio, peace came back and the Wolf passed to find the inhabitants who gave them to eat as promised. The Wolf became the friend of children. And when he died, a few years later, all the inhabitants mourned because they had lost their dear friend “Fratello Lupo” and buried him. The Church of Saint Francesco della Pace was built in 1600. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a sarcophagus with a drawn wolf was discovered inside the church. (It is thought that it was the grave of Gubbio’s wolf). In the church there are also the “Ceri mezzani” with the statues of S. Ubaldo, S. Giorgio and S. Antonio of the famous celebration of May 15. The painting representing the Madonna with the Child and Saints is the work of Giovanni B. Michelini from Foligno.
Lunch at the restaurant “San Francesco e il Lupo”. The restaurant in the centre of Gubbio offers a delicious menù with typical dishes of the Umbra tradition.
In the afternoon visit of the “Chiesa della Vittorina” said also “Porziuncola” of Gubbio. The place where the Holy Father founded his first religious community. The church dates back to the 9th century in memory of a victory over the barbarians: hence the name “ad victorias”. Inside, the walls of the only nave are enriched in the fifteenth century with frescoes, while the fourteen squares with the stories of the Virgin date back to the sixteenth century.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel.
Second day – Gubbio
Breakfast at the hotel and visit of the “Cattedrale of Gubbio”, it is in Ghotic style and where lies the body of Bishop Villano who welcomed Francesco and gave to the first Franciscan community the church of Vittorina.
Lunch at the restaurant “La Taverna del Lupo”.
In the afternoon by climbing the cable car, you reach the Basilica of Sant’Ubaldo. Francesco knew the eugubin bishop, who died in 1160, through the words and tales of his friend Spadalonga. Even today S.Ubaldo, who became patron of Gubbio, is protecting the people of Gubbio. Every May 15th, in Gubbio, the “Festa dei Cer” takes place in his honor. We will visit the dedicated Basilica, that still guarding its incorruptible body, with a small museum of Ubaldian memories. overnigh
Dinner and overnigh at the Hotel.
Third day – Gubbio – Abbazia di Vallingegno -Gubbio
Breakfast at the hotel and visit of the “Abbazia di Vallingegno” with the electric car (about 10 Km from Gubbio). Here Francesco, on his way to arrive in Gubbio, stopped to shelter himself from the cold after being attacked by the robbers near Caprignone. For the reward of hospitality, she offered to work in the kitchen. The prior was not kind. Years later, when his fame became great throughout the country, the prior came back to ask him forgiveness. So in the frequent passages to La Verna, Francesco will often receive hospitality in Vallingegno. The Abbey, one of the largest in the area, is made up of a rectangular hall and pre-existing structures such as the square-shaped crypt with a central pillar. The colonial houses, located behind the courtyard, occupy the large environments that originally hosted the workshops of monastery.
Lunch at the Abbazia.
Overnight at the Hotel.
Fourth day – Gubbio – Assisi – Gubbio
Breakfast at hotel and departure to Assisi with the electric car. Guided tour of the most important places of interest: the Basilica of St. Francesco, an architectural masterpiece that contains the best of Middle Ages Italian art including Giotto and Cimabue; Piazza del Comune, the center of Assisi, a place that overlooks the most important palaces of the city: the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, the Torre del Popolo, and the Temple of Minerva, a Roman building of the Republican Age. The Cattedrale of St. Rufino where St. Francesco kept his first preaching and where Saint Chiara met Bishop Guido; the Basilica of Santa Chiara, built in 1257, in Gothic style, covered with the famous “stone of Assisi” in white and pink color: here there is the crypt of the saint.
pice per person in double room € 458,00
single supplement
supplement for single use
The price includes
- electric car (Zoe model) rental for two day
- card for free and unlimited car charging
- n. 3 nights with breakfast at the Sporting Hotel ****
- n. 3 lunches at restaurant
- n. 2 dinners at Hotel
- City Service around Gubbio
- the Umbria Green Card
- insurance
The price does not include
- entrance fees to museums or archaeological sites
- tourist tax to be paid locally
- anything not mentioned in “The price includes”.
Prices per person for a minimum of 2 participants