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Earlier this year, I had the tremendous privilege of traveling to Italy and England with my
classmates – an experience which I had anticipated for my entire college career, and one which
managed to exceed my considerable expectations. It feels impossible for me to adequately
articulate the sense of magnitude which colored my time abroad: how can I explain my time on
the Appian Way, or in Pompeii, or at Stonehenge without reference to the lineages those places
represent? My empirical experience in each of these places felt, and still seems, tied to the
history of the place itself. Of course, that’s not a novel conclusion, and I am positive that scores
of other, better traveled, more articulate people have expressed the value of visiting new +
significant places far more eloquently than I ever could. Regardless, I’ve found myself reflecting
on both this sense and my time in Europe with more frequency over the last couple of weeks, so
I’ve decided to use my penultimate (!) blog to share a bit about my time in Assisi, located in the
Umbria region of Italy.
My classmates and I arrived in Assisi by train. We had spent the morning and most of the
afternoon in Florence, and, while I had heard much about Assisi’s picturesque scenery and
tranquil atmosphere, I hadn’t quite known what to expect. I discovered soon after arrival,
however, that the serenity of the place hadn’t been oversold. Assisi sits on the top of a hill, and
so provided a perfect vantage point to view the scenery of the surrounding region. I could see the
nearby rolling green hills, vineyards, and Romanesque architecture from every vantage point
throughout the city. Assisi itself was similarly beautiful, featuring some of the most impressive
basilicas and most architecturally interesting buildings I had seen in Italy.
Beyond the scenery, though, Assisi just felt peaceful. Its position on a hilltop, along with its
distance from Rome and its small size, afforded the place a nearly tangible sense of calm. The
sense of peace permeated every corner of the city: our hotel (which only had enough room for
our class, a handful of religious brothers, and the owner’s cat), the pizza restaurant which sat
slightly below street level, St. Francis’s Basilica, and the shops which lined the cobblestone
streets all felt relaxing.
Though we only spent one night in the town, my time in Assisi has stuck with me. As life has
gotten busier, readings have gotten longer, and the prospect of the “real world” has creeped
closer, I have often found myself channeling the peace and tranquility of the city. Though I don’t
quite know what the next few months will hold, I do know that I will continue to draw comfort
from reflecting on my time abroad.
Megan Crowley is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. She is studying political science