Assisi shrine spruced up

(April, 09 2011) The crypt housing the tomb of St.Francis of Assisi has been restored, clean decadesof built-up candle smoke and ash and letting the original pink stone shine through. Franciscan priests, restorers and Italian culture ministry officials on Saturday unveiled the spruced-up crypt,located underneath the lower church of Assisi's famed, fresco-filled basilica. Culture ministry undersecretary Francesco Maria Giro said it was a «light» restoration that was nevertheless symbolic, removing black dirt and restoring the pink, which he said denoted the love and tenderness for which St. Francis is known. The restoration follows the massive work done to repair the Cimabue and Giotto frescoes upstairs that were destroyed in a 1997 earthquake