Ancient Olives

A few years back, my wife and I made a wonderful second trip to Italy, a pilgrimage to sites connected to the life of St. Francis of Assisi. We stayed at a fantastic bed and breakfast close to the San Damiano church down the hill from Assisi. Daily, as we exited the fortified walls and followed small roads to the church, we would pick routes through an incredible ancient olive grove, still producing the blessed oil.

This is one of the twisted, gorgeous examples of trees in that lovely grove, reminiscent of Francis.