Assisi

I remember visiting Assisi during my grade 10 art trip through Italy...it stood out as being a very peaceful place. I bought my Grandmother a set of rose scented rosary beads there which she has kept to this day (even though I don't think she's catholic)
I went again today, and this time I spent the whole day there instead of just a quick stop through. I love Assisi, I don't know why, but this place just feels so serene...like a weight is temporarily lifted off my shoulders while I'm walking through the cobblestone streets. (Perhaps it is because of St. Francis himself, who was the big dude on campus here and who was well known for his charity and love of nature.)

I walked into the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi during a service (they're used to that), and the congregation was singing this beautiful hymn. There seems to be a powerful energy here, I'm not even Catholic but I spent a long while in this church and the choir sang the whole time, and I just felt overwhelmed by it all...

note: Here is an article written about Assisi and St. Francis...in the article it says:

The entire town and particularly the Basilica have a definite atmosphere of
peacefulness that awakens and stimulates that same characteristic in the human
heart.

So I guess this peaceful feeling is a documented thing!