Assisi

Even at ten on a grey January morning Assisi was enjoying an influx of visitors. It must be impossible to live here in the height of the summer when it is inundated with the faithful and curious from every corner of the earth. We nearly bought a house on the outskirts of San Gimignano in Tuscany when we first moved to Italy but thought better of it when we saw just how crowded the place becomes in high season. Assisi must be similar.

The heart of the town is one of those picture perfect combinations of civic and church coexistence which have only survived in Italy. Perhaps most stunning of all in this central area is the roman era temple of Minerva which now does service as a much restored and embelished church. Assisi also has some good restaurants of which more later.