The Hermitage of Santo Spirito a Majella
The largest hermitage of the Majella, carved into the rock
The Majella, the great mountain of Abruzzo, was called by Petrarch the "domus Christi", the home of Christ, for the many hermitages that hermits and monks carved into its rocks in the Middle Ages, seeking solitude and closeness to God. The largest and most important of these is the Eremo di Santo Spirito a Majella, in the municipality of Roccamorice, set in a wild valley at about 1,100 metres, among beech woods and rock walls. Founded perhaps in the eleventh century, it was restored and enlarged in the thirteenth century by Pietro da Morrone, the future Pope Celestine V, who lived here for some time with his followers and made it one of the centres of his congregation, the Celestines.
The hermitage is partly built and partly carved into the rock wall, on several levels, with a church, the rooms of the monks, the prior's house, terraces and gardens. One of the most evocative places is the "Scala Santa", a steep staircase carved into the rock that leads to the small Cappella della Maddalena and to the rooms above, from which the view sweeps over the valley. In the seventeenth century, the hermitage was enlarged by Prince Marino Caracciolo, who had rooms built for his own retreat. A short distance away is another evocative hermitage, San Bartolomeo in Legio, set under a rock overhang and reached by a path and steps carved into the cliff. The area is part of the Majella National Park and a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Tip: check opening times, as the hermitage is open mainly in summer and at weekends; combine it with San Bartolomeo in Legio.
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