- Feb 5, 2002
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Everyone knows the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the burial place of the founder of the Franciscan order, as well as the basilica housing the Portiuncula. But few know the Eremo delle Carceri, a hermitage hidden in the mountains, surrounded by trees — a place of silence where the “Poverello” himself withdrew to pray.
In every season, an unending crowd throngs the majestic entrances of the Upper and Lower Basilicas in Assisi in the Umbrian region of Italy. Thousands of tourists tread the cobblestones of the medieval town with its pale stone façades. Meanwhile, just five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the center, high above the town, the atmosphere is entirely different: Here, silence and solitude reign. This is what Francis and his companions sought in the early 13th century.
At the end of a winding climb, on the slopes of Mount Subasio at an altitude of about 800 meters (about 2,625 feet), the first Franciscan friar erected a small hermitage nestled in the greenery. In this sacred place, there are still no car horns, no souvenir vendors, no restaurants — only birdsong welcoming the souls who come to pray.
Continued below.
Where St. Francis slept on stone, pilgrims still find peace
The Hermitage of St. Francis is a little known sanctuary in Assisi that still preserves the spirit of St. Francis.
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