The best cycling routes around Deruta

Deruta from above is a gem

Assisi With its world-famous city walls, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Assisi promises visitors a wealth of culture and history. Shopping and long walks in the old town are also part of Assisi's itinerary. Near Perugia, the capital of Umbria, lies Assisi. The birthplace and place of work of St. Francis and St. Clare, it is a city worth visiting, and not only because of its famous children. Assisi's medieval city center and city walls are so well preserved that they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. The city walls and the Basilica of San Francesco are therefore popular attractions for travelers. Founded by the Romans under the name Asisium, the terraced layout of the oldest Roman part of the city can still be seen today. The forum, an amphitheater, and the temples of the goddess Minerva (goddess of wisdom) are almost completely preserved. Text / Source: italien.de GmbH https://www.italien.de/staedte/assisi

Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli The small chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli alla Porziuncola, still completely preserved inside the basilica, was, according to tradition, built by four soldiers returning from the Holy War in the wooded plain below Assisi, known as the Cerretto della Porziuncola. They brought a piece of the Madonna's tombstone with them. There, on certain autumn days, the strong wind that blew every cloud from the sky and through the leaves seemed similar to the song of angels. The chapel was administered by the Benedictine monks of the monastery of Santa Benedetto al Subasio since the 10th century. This place would probably have been completely forgotten if the paths of Francis and Clare had not led there. Thanks to them, we find the Porziuncola intact today, just as it was a good 1,000 years ago. But instead of the noisy thicket, there is now a large basilica, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, which envelops and protects the chapel like a caring mother. This view from within the building makes the chapel seem even smaller, almost impossibly small. The church was given to the poor saint by the aforementioned Benedictine monks to establish the headquarters of the newly founded Franciscan order. When Francis first came here, the church was in disrepair, and according to his saintly legend, he dedicated the third year after his conversion exclusively to the renovation of the small chapel. It was here, while reading the Gospel, that he realized that his mission was not to restore dilapidated religious buildings, but to rebuild and preach the entire Kingdom of God by living in poverty, penance, and simplicity. From here, Francis and his confreres set out to spread his message throughout Italy, and here they returned again and again. One night in 1211, a desperate and frightened Chiara d'Offreduccio, who had fled her home and her aristocratic family, knocked on the doors of Porciuncola. Text / Source: Exploring-Umbria.com https://www.exploring-umbria.com/de/entdecke-assisi/sehenswuerdigkeiten-in-assisi/basilica-santa-maria-degli-angeli-in-porziuncolabasilika-zu-unserer-lieben-frau-von-den-engeln/

The large - and magnificent, but with its baroque splendour not quite in keeping with the Franciscan ideal - cathedral of "Santa Maria degli Angeli" is not located in the historic centre of the old town of Assisi, which is nestled along the slope of Monte Subasio, but down in the plain. This place of worship was built - like a sweeping cloak - around the "Portiuncula", a small chapel that still exists in the middle of the nave and is one of the original and significant Franciscan shrines.

When most people hear the name Assisi, that picturesque place in Umbria, they immediately associate it with "San FRANCESCO" (in German, "Franz von Assisi" is inseparably linked to his place of origin in the name itself). He has been a very popular saint for centuries, and is valued even beyond the borders of Christianity. But the pilgrimage site has produced two important personalities: "Santa CHIARA" also deserves to be honored accordingly. She lived at the same time as Francis: Clara was born in (or around) 1193 and died in 1253. Her general memorial day in the calendar of saints is the day of her death on August 11th for all major Christian denominations, but there are also regional or order-specific memorial days. In addition to this highlight, her Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the center of Assisi, another very significant place in the life of Santa Chiara is the still existing monastery “San Damiano” (if you are interested, see https://www.komoot.com/de-de/highlight/361272 ), located just outside the historic city walls.

The stretch up to Ponte San Giovanni is smooth and shaded

Ponte San Giovanni is a fraction of the municipality of Perugia. Its qualification as a "neighborhood" of the city of Perugia is debated for reasons not only of urban geography but also of historical-cultural reasons.

Deruta, the ceramic village in the green heart of Umbria