Italian Hours Chapter 15 - A Chain of Cities Part 1

In which the narrator, pausing briefly at Narni in the heart of winter, reflects on the austere yet affectionate charm of central Italian towns, and immerses himself in the solemnity and artistry of Assisi’s twin churches dedicated to St. Francis, contemplating their spiritual and architectural grandeur. Thereafter, he wanders through the languid streets and fortresses of Umbria’s hilltop cities, observing with gentle melancholy the mingling of age-old reverence and the inevitable march of modernity that reshapes their venerable character.