Back Through Time

Friday, September 16, 2011

Assisi

Today we all took a road trip to Assisi and Perugia. Assisi was a marvel that seemed as though it was a fortification that just materialized out of the side of the mountain – bearing angles and arches that resembled a geometric abstraction of the natural landscape of the cliff it emerged from. We spent the morning in the Chiesa di San Francesco where the magic of Giotto surrounded us. Then amongst all the fame and glory of Giotto, at the back of the church, I discovered a local artist named Cesare Sermei. His fresco was full of grace, feeling, and emotion. I think I’ll have to be blasphemous to some and say that I enjoyed this single fresco more than any other image in the church.

Giudizio Universale, Cesare Sermei, Assisi

By the time we got to Perugia, I was sort of art-saturated. I went to see Perugino’s Collegio del Cambio – and all I needed was to see his self-portrait and his beautiful depictions of the Saints and the Sybils to be fully satisfied. After this, I took a stroll around the steep arched walkways, losing myself in the grandeur of a town that has seen more history than anything I can imagine. All the roads that went uphill led to the Duomo (the ascension to heaven was apparently considered in the architectural design of this beautiful city). What I loved most about Perugia was the atmosphere and its people; there were students, families, musicians, tourists, everybody. At one point, there was a drum group performing in the middle of the Piazza Duomo, and the energy I could feel reverberating throughout the air was as energizing as the beautiful cappuccino I had that morning. I truly enjoyed Perugia and I hope to return some day :)

Perugia