en it before, I lost no time in renewing
my acquaintance with it. This church is not only the jewel of Asisi,
but one of the most precious of Italy. It is among churches what a
person of genius is in a crowd. The rich marbles one sees elsewhere
suggest the mechanic in their arrangement, and one grows almost tired
of them; but here the soul of Art and Faith has poured itself out,
covering all the wide walls, the ceilings, the sides of arches, the
ribs of groinings--every foot of space, in short--with life and color;
and how much more precious is one of those solemn pearly faces than a
panel of alabaster or the most cunning mosaic of marbles! In the upper
church alone there are twenty-two large frescoes of Cimabue and thirty
of Giotto. Over these pours the light from fourteen large colored
windows, unimpeded by side-aisles. When the sun beats upon these
windows the church seems to be filled with a transparent mist softly
tinted with a thousand rich hues. The deep-blue, star-sown vault
sparkles and the figures on the walls become a vision.

The upper church has been in danger of losing its beautiful choir, a
marvel of carving and _intarsio_, which Cavalcasella, inspector of fine
arts in Italy, removed for the odd reason that it was a work of the
fourteenth century, while the church was of the thirteenth, and to be
in perfect keeping should have a stone choir. I have not learned
whether this hyper-purist will require of the congregation a
thirteenth-century costume when the church is again open for service.

These beautiful stalls, one hundred and two in number, are now placed
for safe-keeping in what was the infirmary of the adjoining college.
Possibly, when the work going on _pian piano_ in the church is
completed, they may be restored to their original place. Their sombre
richness would show well in that radiant atmosphere.

The work in the church is, however, well done, and was greatly needed,
for those precious frescoes were gradually going to decay. No touch of
pencil is allowed: the work is one of preservation merely, and is being
conducted with the greatest care. The loosened _intonaco_ is found by
tapping lightly on the wall: plaster is then slipped underneath and the
painting firmly pressed to its place. At first _gesso_ was used, but it
was found not to answer the purpose. Every smallest fragment of
painting is saved, and the blank spaces are filled in with plaster
which is painted a light gray. This freshens a