May 24 – June 2, 2025
Â鶹´«Ă˝ Alumni Association Presents
In the Footsteps of St. Francis
With Ken Wolf
Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) is an enormously attractive and enduring saint. Within Catholic Europe he has been especially revered, almost as if he were a second Jesus. His modern-day associations with environmentalism and ecumenicalism have only added to the breadth of his appeal, garnering him the affection of people of all religious backgrounds.
Looked at historically, Francis and the “Order of the Lesser Brothers” (or “Friars Minor”) that he inspired, were very much a sign of their times. The late-twelfth and early-thirteenth centuries witnessed a major economic transformation in Europe that shifted the center of gravity from the countryside, dominated by feudal barons and their land-based wealth, to the cities, controlled by rich merchants and their commercially based wealth. Such economic changes not only led to political and social upheaval but inspired new experiments in religious expression. In the old rural economy dominated by the castles of feudal barons, monasteries had proliferated, acting as spiritual “castles” filled with ascetic “knights” seeking to defend Christendom with the “weapons” of their prayers. In the new urban economy, the monks seemed old-fashioned and out of place. In their stead arose the so-called mendicant orders, made up of religious ascetics like Francis who took their cues, not from the knights and their battles, but from the merchants and their sales pitches. Instead of shunning contact with the world and dedicating themselves to prayer, Francis and his brothers wandered the streets of the cities, preaching penance in the piazzas and supporting themselves by begging.
As attractive as Francis was in his spiritual simplicity, his historical legacy remains a complicated one. For one thing, while he attracted female as well as male imitators, he did not let women like Clare follow him into the streets, begging and preaching. Instead, he insisted that Clare and her “sisters” be confined to a cloister on the edge of Assisi. What does this say about the roles of men and women within the medieval church as a whole? Moreover Francis, in his efforts to imitate Jesus and the apostles, made it a point to live a life of total poverty, utterly rejecting his patrimony as the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. But how did Francis’s self-imposed poverty compare to the poverty of those other impoverished denizens of the streets of Assisi who had not chosen their economic fate? By emphasizing voluntary sacrifice, was Francis’s message focused only on the wealthy?
The point of this trip is to explore Francis and the various facets of his religious experiment in situ, that is, in Assisi and the greater Umbrian world in which he carried out his mission. As it turns out, Francis was not only a great preacher, but he was a great walker, making his way from town to town to address the eager crowds that awaited him. This makes Francis the perfect inspiration for one of our medieval-themed walking tours.
I have spent many years studying Francis, Clare, and the broader phenomenon of medieval “poverty saints” and am eager to share what I have learned with you and to get your feedback in return.
I look forward to seeing you in Italy in 2025.
Pace e bene, Ken Wolf
TRIP INCLUSIONS:
- Group transfers from Rome Airport on May 25, departing from Rome Airport on June 2, after 1:00pm.
- 8 nights hotel accommodations based on double or single occupancy
- Meals as indicated in the itinerary: R= Reception, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
- Lunches and dinners include bottled water and wine
- Hotel taxes and service charges on quoted services
TRIP EXCLUSIONS:
- Cost of obtaining a passport and/or visa
- Communications costs, such as phone calls, emails, and faxes
- Any items of a personal nature
- Any items not included in Trip Inclusions
- International air reservations
Umbria, Italy Itinerary
Saturday, May 24 (USA – Rome)
Depart your hometown for Rome.
Sunday, May 25 (Rome - CittĂ di Castello)
Arrive to Rome Airport by 1:00pm. Ken and Peter will meet you for the transfer to the small town of CittĂ di Castello (4 hours), where the first two nights are spent in a small hotel in the center of this medieval town. D
Hotel Tiferno.
Monday May 26 (CittĂ di Castello)
Our adventure starts as we drive north to the Franciscan monastery of La Verna where Saint Francis received the stigmata. It is still a working monastery set amid wild and mountainous scenery. After visiting the monastery our walk leads along a ridge and down from the mountain top before we return to our hotel by road.
B, L, D
AM - 4.5 miles, up 520 ft, down 1120 ft, rocky steep climb PM - 2.3 miles, gentle up and down
PM - 2.3 miles, gentle up and down
Tuesday, May 27 (Perugia)
We turn south to the small town of San Sepolcro, famous as Piero della Francesca’s birthplace. Our walk leads to the Franciscan convent of Monte Casale with views over the Tiber Valley. We descend into the town where we can visit the Pinacoteca and the great Resurrection by Piero della Francesca. This afternoon we travel by road to the capital of Umbria, the great city of Perugia and the Hotel Brufani where we spend the next two nights. B, L, D
Hotel Brufani
AM – 3.3 miles, up 550ft, down 480 ft, rocky parts over a stream
PM – City walking
Wednesday, May 28 (Perugia)
This morning, we have a guided tour of the superb medieval city of Perugia with the rest of the day free with opportunities to visit the great Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria as well as the Duomo and the archeological museum. B
AM - City walking
Thursday, May 29 (San Luca)
This morning we are eastbound towards the tough medieval mountain town of Gubbio, sternly isolated from much of the region. We walk on the Monte Ingino, still home to a few wolves, the descendants of those charmed by Saint Francis eight centuries ago. This afternoon, we continue to the little hamlet of San Luca where we stay for the next two nights in the lovely Hotel Villa Santa Barbara. B, L, D
Hotel Villa Santa Barbara
AM – 3 miles, up 1000 ft, down 1120 ft, steep climb PM – 3 miles, up 120 ft, down 1120 ft, gentle walking
Friday, May 30 (San Luca)
A short distance north takes us to the World Heritage site of Assisi, home of Saint Francis and his legacy. We will visit the Basilica of Saint Francis itself, the location of one of the great fresco cycles in Italy by Giotto. We also visit the convent of Saint Clare with its miraculous crucifix.
After free time for lunch, we go to the great basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, built over the site of Francis’ humble dwelling, the Porziuncula. In the late afternoon, we return to our hotel by road. B, D
City walking
Saturday, May 31 (Orvieto)
We return to the World Heritage site of Assisi. The town is set against the dramatic landscape of Monte Subasio; we spend the morning walking this iconic mountain with glorious views over the town itself. After lunch, we descend into the town.
This afternoon, we drive to the town of Orvieto, spending our last two nights in a delightful wine resort. B, L, D
Hotel Resort Altarocca
AM – 4.5 miles, up 1100 ft, down 315 ft PM – City walking
Sunday, June 1 (Orvieto)
We visit the great town of Orvieto concentrating on the duomo with the magnificent frescoes by Luca Signorelli. After plenty of time for exploration of this superb medieval city we return to our hotel this evening for a fine farewell dinner. B, D
City walking
Monday, June 2 (Depart Rome)
Return to Rome Airport for your flight home. The travel time to Rome Fiumicino Airport is approximately 2.5 hours, so please make your flight departure after 1:00pm.
COST PER PERSON:
$7045.00 per person based on two people sharing a twin-bedded room. The trip cost is based on a minimum of 15 paying participants. We reserve the right to cancel this trip if a minimum number of participants is not reached.
A limited number of single rooms are available at an additional cost of $1505.00.
A deposit of $2,000 per person is required at the time of booking. Final payment is due no later than February 20, 2025.
Should you cancel your trip for any reason before February 20, 2025, a $1,000 per person cancellation fee is charged. If you cancel between February 20 and March 24, 2025, a fee equal to 50% of the tour cost is charged. No refund can be paid if cancelled after March 24, 2025. If we can resell your booking, a $500 per person transfer fee will be charged.
Airline tickets have separate charges and cancellation fees depending on fare paid and date of change or cancellation. TRAVEL INSURANCE IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
CONDITIONS AND CONTRACT: Travelstore VIP is the principal tour operator and is responsible to the participants for all arrangements and for all tour services and accommodations offered in these tours. Travelstore VIP, its agents, servants and employees shall not be responsible for personal injury or property damage, loss or delay, or change of itinerary incurred by any person or tour participant arising out of the act or negligence of any direct or supplemental air carrier, hotel or other person rendering any of these services, or accommodations being offered in this tour; nor shall Travelstore VIP be responsible for any injuries, death, damages, loss or delay in any means of transportation or by reason of any event beyond the actual control of Travelstore VIP or of any agent supplier or due to force majeure. The right is reserved to decline or accept or to retain any person as a member of a trip, or to cancel a trip, due to circumstances beyond the control of Travelstore VIP.
If the contract between Travelstore VIP and the passenger, on the one hand, and/or the contract between Travelstore VIP, and the designated carrier, on the other hand, is cancelled by the tour operator for any reason whatsoever, all partial or full payments made for the trip will be refunded in their entirety, without further obligation on the part of the tour operator.
The right is reserved to substitute hotels of similar category or change schedules without prior notice should circumstances so demand. In the event of a change in the itinerary necessitated by factors or conditions
beyond the actual control of Travelstore VIP, no refund can be made, nor will credit be allowed, provided that in the event of such change in itinerary, Travelstore VIP shall attempt to provide accommodations and services of comparable quality and standards as set forth in the brochure.
Any such change shall not modify the cancellation provisions in the brochure. No credit will be allowed, or refund given for any services provided in the Itinerary and Conditions List should any such services not be utilized by the tour members. Availability of refunds for air transportation depends on the type of air tickets purchased, and the point at which transportation is not used.
Travelstore VIP shall not be responsible for any injuries, damages, or losses caused to any traveler in
conjunction with other actions, omissions, or conditions outside Travelstore VIP’s control including terrorist activities, social or labor unrest, mechanical or construction difficulties, diseases, local law, climatic conditions, abnormal conditions, or developments, or any other actions, omissions, or other conditions outside Travelstore VIP’s control.
PASSPORTS: The U.S. State Department recommends that all travelers’ passports remain valid for six months beyond their expected return date. They also recommend that all travelers’ passports have a minimum of at least two blank pages left or travel may be refused to certain countries.
INSURANCE: Travel insurance for travel accident, loss/damage/delay of baggage, flight insurance and trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. Applications will be sent on request.
OPERATORS: This program is operated by Travelstore VIP of Irvine, California, and Duende Travel, UK, and hotels listed in the itinerary.
For further information, please contact:
Travelstore VIP
Karen Goodrich
18881 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 1400
Irvine, CA 92612
Tel: 949.930.9288
Fax: 949.930.9261
Email: Karen.go@travelstore.com