The Monastery of La Verna is perched between the Alpe di Serra and the Alpe di Catenaia, on a spur of rock (the ”crude” rock that Dante mentioned in his Paradiso), and can be seen far beyond the mountains of Faggeto. Pines and beech trees fill the surrounding forests, the beauty of which has been preserved over the centuries by the monks who live in the famous monastery founded by Saint Francis.

An isolated mountain hallowed by association with St. Francis of Assisi. Its name (Latin, Alverna) is said to come from the Italian verb vernare, to make cold or freeze. On 8 May, 1213, La Verna was given to St. Francis by Count Orlando of Chiusi as a retreat "specially favourable for contemplation". Here the saint withdrew in August 1224, to keep forty days fast in preparation for Michelmas, and it was while praying on the mountainside that he received (on or about 14 Sept.) the stigmata. Thenceforth La Verna became sacred ground.

Nowadays La Verna has a continuous stream of pilgrims and visitors, attracted not only by the beautiful and atmospheric monastery itself (both in the winter with the snow and in the summer with the wonderful fresh air of the woods), but also by the Sasso Spicco (a chunk of rock that sits out on the edge of the mountain), the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (13th Century), the Basilica, the Church of the Stigmata, the terracotta’s by Della Robbia, the picturesque stone pathways...

* A visit to Camaldoli can also be made during this trip