Much of the history of medieval towns like Assisi and Gubbio remains impenetrable because of the destruction of documents and monuments due to wars and fires and the plague and other vicissitudes of ancient cities. But that is a part of their allure, part of the joy of continuing research and speculation, part of the joy of discovering, the joy of a possible epiphany, a sudden realization of why and how things happened beyond the wardrobe of time present.

—from Enter Assisi: An Invitation to Franciscan Spirituality by Murray Bodo, OFM