- published: 05 Dec 2012
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Assisi (Italian pronunciation: [asˈsiːzi], from the Latin: Asisium) is a town and comune of Italy in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It was the birthplace of St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Sisters, which later became the Order of Poor Clares after her death. The 19th-century Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was also born in Assisi.
Around 1000 BC a wave of immigrants settled in the upper Tiber valley as far as the Adriatic Sea, and also in the neighborhood of Assisi. These were the Umbrians, living in small fortified settlements on high ground. From 450 BC these settlements were gradually taken over by the Etruscans. The Romans took control of central Italy by the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC. They built the flourishing municipium Asisium on a series of terraces on Monte Subasio. Roman remains can still be found in Assisi: city walls, the forum (now Piazza del Comune), a theatre, an amphitheatre and the Temple of Minerva (now transformed into the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva). In 1997, the remains of a Roman villa were also discovered containing several well preserved rooms with frescoes and mosaics in a condition rarely found outside sites such as Pompei.
Saint Francis of Assisi (born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.
Francis was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, and he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he begged with the beggars at St. Peter's. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following. His order was endorsed by Pope Innocent III in 1210. He then founded the Order of Poor Clares, which was an enclosed order for women, as well as the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance. In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the Sultan. By this point, the Franciscan Order had grown to such an extent that its primitive organizational structure was no longer sufficient. He returned to Italy to organize the order. Once his organization was endorsed by the Pope, he withdrew increasingly from external affairs. In 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas manger scene. In 1224, he received the stigmata, making him the first recorded person to bear the wounds of Christ's Passion. He died in 1226 while preaching Psalm 141.
Take the time to make some sense of what you want to say
And cast your words away upon the waves
Sail them home with acquiesce on a ship of hope today
And as they land upon the shore tell them not to fear no more
Say it loud and sing it proud today
And then dance if you wanna dance
Please brother take a chance
You know they're gonna go
Which way they wanna go
All we know is that we don't know
How it's gonna be, please brother let it be
Life on the other hand, won't let us understand
We're all part of the masterplan
Say it loud and sing it proud today
I'm not saying right is wrong, it's up to us to make
The best of all the things that come our way
'Cause everything that's been has past
The answer's in the looking glass
There's four and twenty million doors
On life's endless corridor
Say it loud and sing it proud and today
Will dance if they wanna dance
Please brother take a chance
You know they're gonna go
Which way they wanna go
All we know is that we don't know
How it's gonna be, please brother let it be
Life on the other hand won't let you understand