We took the path out of Porta Cappuccini and began our walk up the slope of Mount Subasio towards the caves above Assisi that St Francis and his brothers used as a hermitage.

It was a lovely day for our journey and as we arrived at Eremo Delle Carceri, now a small friary, we felt greeted by the loud bird song in the oak trees all around us.

We finished the day inside the huge Basilica di Santa Maria Angeli, 4 km from Assisi, where we spent some time in the Porziuncola, the nucleus of the first Franciscan monastery, and the Cappella del Transito where St Francis died in 1226. The frescoes by Lo Spagna were movingly beautiful.