In the 11th century (1000s), Assisi became a free town. But there was constant fighting between two groups called the Ghibellines and the Guelphs. Assisi mainly supported the Ghibellines, but the nearest big town, Perugia, supported the Guelphs. During the battle of Ponte San Giovanni (St. John's Bridge), the Guelphs from Perugia managed to capture a young man from Assisi. His name was Francesco di Bernardone. It was partly because of his experiences when he was captured that young Francesco decided that he would change from being a soldier. When he returned to his father's house, he put away all his riches and became a poor, wandering preacher, telling people to turn to God and live in peace with each other. He worked with the poor and the outcast people. They had no church except a ruin. St. Francis and his friends rebuilt the tiny ruined church for the shepherds and other poor people to worship in. It is called the "Porziuncola". Francesco (Francis) founded the Order of Franciscans. He was "canonized" (made a saint) in 1228 and is known as St. Francis. He is one of the most popular saints.
A large basilica church was built on the side of the mountain, in honour of St Francis, and was beautifully decorated with scenes of his life. One of the most famous scenes shows the story of St. Francis preaching to the birds. In 1997 Assisi was hit by the two earthquakes. Part of the roof of the basilica fell in, killing four people who were standing below, and damaging the painted ceiling. Many people "made donations" (gave money) to repair the building which was reopened less than two years later.
The town has by two ancient castles. The oldest one was built by the Romans and is partly in ruins.
The larger castle is called "Rocca Maggiore". It was built by Cardinal Albornoz in 1367 and was added to by Popes Pius II and Paul III.
UNESCO has made all the main monuments, the churches and the town of Assisi as a World Heritage Site.
Festival Calendimaggio is held from May 1st-5th. There are processions, theatre, flag-weavers and dance.
Assisi Embroidery is a type of counted-thread embroidery which has been practised in Assisi since the 13th century.
Today the town has many groups coming to enjoy the simple peace of St. Francis. One such group has restored an 11th-century room and added altars to the world's religions. Pilgrims come from many countries to the Assisi East West Retreat Center in Piazza San Rufino in the spirit of St. Francis to sit and be in peace.
Federalist Party
The Federalist Party (or Federal Party) was an American political party from 1792 to 1816. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. Alexander Hamilton formed the party during George Washington's first term. Hamilton built a network of supporters for his financial policies. Many supporters came from cities. These supporters grew into the Federalist Party, which wanted a fiscally sound and strong nationalistic government.
With the start of the new government under the Constitution, President George Washington appointed his former chief of staff, Alexander Hamilton, to the office of Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton wanted a strong national government with financial credibility.
By 1790, Hamilton started building a nationwide coalition. He and his network of treasury agents tried to link together friends of the government, especially merchants and bankers, in the new nation's dozen major cities. His attempts to manage politics in the national capital to get his plans through Congress, then, "brought strong responses across the country. In the process, what began as a capital faction soon assumed status as a national faction and then, finally, as the new Federalist party."
The party opposed the War of 1812 and dwindled away after the war in 1816.
Hamilton and others published a number of newspaper articles from about 1790, which are known as Federalist Papers today.
Special Forces Command
The Maroon Berets are a highly trained elite special operations armed force unit that was created by officers from the Turkish Army. They are also called "Bordo Bereliler". Their priority is to eliminate terrorists, attackers and foreign military threats on the Turkish Republic and provide homeland security. Other missions include behind enemy lines operations, high risk reconnaissance missions and front line engagement and termination missions.
There are three categories of education and training that a MB will undergo. These are Domestic, International and Specialty
Within these three categories, there are 47 different subjects. Domestic training takes 72 weeks of basic training; International training takes 10 to 52 weeks of specialized training in different countries. It takes 3.5 – 5 years to become a MB commando.
The Maroon Berets (MB) came into the public spotlight when they captured the PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Öcalan in Kenya. The identities of MB personal is classified. Unlike other special operations teams, MB Officers are battle hardened and are constantly operating and are active in the war on the PKK in the south eastern Iraqi border region of Turkey and even cross border action into Northern Iraq.
Birth of the Maroon Berets is just prior to the Korean War and immediately after World War II. Their first name was "Turkish Commandos" ().
In a bid to gain membership into NATO, Republic of Turkey sent army troops to combat during the Korean War. At the time the United States military didn't have special operations team therefore the Maroon Berets were the only special operations team to operate in the Korean War. MB officers would operate assault missions into North Korean territory and would recon and intelligence gathering missions into China. MB commandos were the only foreign armed force to operate on Chinese soil at that time. As of this date, the exact details and operations of the MB commandos in the Korean War remains classified.
In 1992, their name changed to "Maroon Berets" ().
The Maroon Berets remained highly active in the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974 ( also known as the 1974 Turkish-Greek war) and played a major role in the outcome of the (Turkish victory) war. Turkish MB commandos priority throughout the war was to eliminate the Greek Junta armed forcein Cyprus which would ultimately cause the collapse of the Greek Junta Political-Military heavily armed force. The Maroon Berets and the Turkish Army would achieve this through two Invasions Invasion A and Invasion B with invasion scout and reconnaissance missions prior to Invasion A and Invasion B. Maroon Beret commandos would land undetected using high speed attack boats for Scouting and reconnaissance before the two main Invasion landing. They would sneak for miles giving locations for the main invasion landing vessels to land on, bomb coordinates for the Air Force to strike, map terrain, mark danger zones and hidden mine fields for the upcoming invading soldiers and plant charges to blow during the invasion. Their scouting and reconnaissance would last from 3 hours to 3 days. These missions were often highly risky and critical for the safety of Turkish Infantry troops, tanks and transport vehicles.
The Maroon Berets conduct daily operations against the PKK terrorist organization in the ongoing clashes between Turkish Security forces and Kurdish PKK Terrorists in an effort for an independent Kurdish state in south eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Aside from daily operations Maroon Berets participated and led the Turkish Army into battle in 5 Invasions into Northern Iraq as far as 32 kilometers.
October 5th 1992, Operation Northern Iraq, in retaliation to an simultaneous attacks on 3 Turkish Gendarme Station which left 28 soldiers dead and 125 wounded. The Turkish Military captured 1,232 PKK terrorists and had killed another 1,551.