ASSISI—ROME

As in the previous year, the 2013 joint expedition featured the Université de Lausanne, this year represented by Sandrine Laïne and Adrien, and a group from Masaryk University, joined this year by Maťo and Zuzka. The rest of the group probably doesn‘t need further introduction: the so-called "Giraffes" Betty and Schallo (giraffes because of their fast pace, which sometimes bordered on a trot; they were later joined by Adrien), the Foletti family – expedition leader Ivan Foletti with his wife Karolina, and me, Ivana.

We all met in Assisi, which was the starting point of our pilgrimage. Saint Francis worked here, and his remains are located in the crypt of the local basilica. We were amazed not only by the architecture, but even more by the paintings, which Giotto took part in. After a tour of the upper and lower basilica, we set off. The first test awaited us – a quite steep hill, which we managed to climb just before sunset. We couldn't have had a more beautiful start than looking at the valley, with Assisi and the red sky behind us.

The next day, we stopped for lunch in the village of Spello. During our tour of local churches, we met a priest. The encounter has stuck in my memory. He said: "You can make a stone or a wing out of your pain." His words accompanied us throughout the whole journey. It can happen that people are in pain while on pilgrimage, however, it is important for the group to cope with it. I think this makes our group an example of exceptional collaboration. Our journey continued to Trevi, Tempietto del Clitunno and Spoleto. In Spoleto, two things were important (apart from the churches we visited: San Salvatore and San Pietro). First, trips like these are always associated with local culinary specialties. Pilgrimage is an ideal opportunity to buy the best food in a place where it comes from, and for a very reasonable price. In Spoleto, this specialty was truffles. The second important thing – the hill in front of us. Umbria, the region we were crossing, was more mountainous than the area of the previous year's pilgrimage. This hill was challenging as it was very steep and we only started to climb at sunset. When we finally reached the peak, it was already dark. In the end, it only made our dinner more tasty.

Another stop on our journey was in Ferentillo. Here, the quiet, time-lapse beauty of medieval paintings contrasted sharply with a nearby luxury hotel, where we, battered and dirty pilgrims, fit in with the same contrast. In Romita di Cesi, located in a renovated monastery, we had the opportunity to take a shower, and a local priest invited us for lunch. We passed through the city of Amelia and continued to Orte. From here, Rome was, so to speak, around the corner. We had decided to spend our last night at the excavated ruins of the ancient Roman Forum. The stones, which have been there for about two thousand years, were pleasantly warm even after sunset. The next day we reached our last stop – Castel Sant´Elia near Nepi and our final destination – Rome.

Our journey in the footsteps of St. Francis, along Via Francensina and Via Amerina, will remain in our memories forever. For this expedition, we are especially grateful to Mr. Foletti, who brought us together and made us all not only university colleagues, but friends as well. For art historians, excursions are as important as laboratories are for chemists. Direct observation of the works of art helps us to understand the connotations and environment of their origin. The "leitmotif" of this excursion was St. Francis and the places he visited on his pilgrimage to Rome. We were thus able to observe the Franciscan impact on the architectural and artistic development of the area, mixed with Roman and Lombard tradition.