Delighted Assisi friars hurl snowballs at basilica

STORY: ''Dear brothers and sisters, you see, Sister Snow has arrived, here in Assisi, and she makes this city very beautiful. And she is perfect for snowballs!'', friar of the Assisi, Brother Rafael Normando said before throwing a snowball to other friars.

Assisi is known for the beauty of its basilica, a place of pilgrimage not only for the faithful but also for artists and art history students because it contains about 10,000 square meters of frescoes by Giotto and other masters such as Cimabue, Simone Martini, and Pietro Lorenzetti.

Heavy snowfall hit the Italian central Apennine areas over the weekend, creating picturesque landscapes but also causing inconvenience to the population, with blocked roads and closed schools.