I've got a .htaccess file as it follows:
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php [NC,L]
Yes, there is:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^(.+) - [PT,L]
RewriteRule ^assets/(.*)$ public/assets/$1 [L]
</IfModule>
First block of conditions and the first rule is applied to existing files and folders, and the second rule if an actual rewrite that should happen if there is no file or folder.