Umbrian Easter

St Francis of Assisi preached the importance of living by three vows - obedience, chastity and poverty. I, myself, am not a friar of the Franciscan order (it is well documented that I am a non-practicing agnostic pagan of the yogurt-worshipping knighthood division of the ecclesiastical realm of the artist formerly known as Prince) but, having visited Assisi recently I feel compelled to draw inspiration from the saint and these essential qualities.

Obedience

I came to Italy in time for Easter. I planned out the ferry across from Split, the places I’d go to in Croatia and Slovenia and the route I’d take from Munich when I arrived in Germany a few weeks ago. I was expecting big things. Some Italians I had met in Munich had supported my decision to stay in a smallish town over the holiday period. “Small towns in Italy always have events during Easter,” they had said. I don’t celebrate Easter but as a tourist I was interested in learning about the religious traditions that assumedly pervaded this Christian country.

So you can imagine my surprise when upon asking the tourist office, the hostel I was staying and anyone else I could find about said Easter rituals that I was met with a face of confusion. It felt at times that they were thinking “do we still do that stuff?” There were some stalls on Pasquetta (Easter Monday) in the park with a small music festival, I was told. That didn’t sound like the ancient tradition I was looking for.

There were posters all over town I was staying in (and in surrounding towns) for a crucifixion procession and reenactment at nine o’clock, though with no location specified. When I asked about where this was I was told that they hadn’t done that since the earthquake damaged the cathedral almost ten years ago. I’d read about a procession of men in Assisi with burning torches, wearing on Friday night. Usually I avoid such activity, but I was intrigued. But no one could tell me if this was actually happening.

On Easter Sunday I visited the stoned hill village of Spello. Given that in regional Italy most places are closed on normal Sundays, I was expecting on Easter Sunday that the town would be deserted. The town was filled with Italian tourists making using of the long weekend and with shops selling the truffle-infused products that that area of Umbria is known for. But again, nothing particularly Easter-y. I encountered one group of international tourists. Filipino tourists. People who I thought might want to be doing Easter things. But again, nothing. I seemed to be the only person interested in Easter. It was like I was the only person contributing to the university group assignment despite not even being enrolled in the course.

Chastity

The Basilica of St Francis in Assisi is Mecca for Franciscan monks. So coming the day before Easter may have not been the smartest thing to do. Despite being packed with pilgrims and tourists, I was able to appreciate the colourful frescoes that decorate the walls of the grand religious structure. I feel like one couple must have been really captivated by what they saw. I, myself, have never thought that the chapel outside the tomb of a saint was a great place to start kissing incessantly but then again maybe that’s because I’m a non-believer. And let’s be clear here, I was not trying to look. However their subtlety was unabated. At the time I wondered if the world was coming to end and I’d missed some critical communiqué.

Poverty

The hostel I stayed at in Foligno had breakfast included. This was the first time I had breakfast included in this trip. Needless to say, I was not content with only breakfast being included. I would ensure that the hostel provided me with lunch and snacks for the entire day, and possibly other days, under the veneer of breakfast. After breakfast each day, my pockets left filled the remnants of what was planned to be someone else’s breakfast. One day I began making my way towards the breakfast room and realised I was not wearing my jacket. So, of course, I immediately turned around to retrieve it and grabbed some spare serviettes for good measure.