Eremo di San Martino in Valle

Hidden beyond the narrows of the Gole di Fara San Martino, the remains of a medieval monastery include a three-arched portico, a bell gable and a church whose oldest room was cut into the rock.

Why it matters

San Martino in Valle is among the earliest documented sacred sites in the Majella area. The monastery is first recorded in 829, and its history reflects changing religious ties, periods of rebuilding and eventual abandonment.

What to notice

The remains include an access gate, an inner courtyard and a portico originally formed by three arcades on columns with leaf capitals. A bell gable rises along the north side. The church has a 13th-century portal and an irregular three-naved interior; a wall of three arches opens toward a room cut into the rock, where two small columns bear the date 1411.

Context and history

San Martino appears in a record of 829 among the possessions of Santo Stefano in Lucania. A grant by Pipino, son of Charlemagne, was confirmed by Emperor Lothar in 832. The monastery later came under the orbit of San Liberatore a Maiella and the diocese of Chieti. After disputes with the bishops of Chieti, it was suppressed in 1451.

The complex was rebuilt over several centuries. An 1818 flood buried it, and excavations in 1891 and 1929, followed by later clearance, brought the remains back to view. The remains of the hermit Giovanni Stabile were identified behind the altars in 2009. A devotional procession from Atessa is held on the first Sunday of May.