Eremo delle Carceri

About four kilometres above Assisi, in the holm-oak woods of Monte Subasio, the Eremo delle Carceri preserves the Franciscan practice of retreat. Its complex brings together natural caves, a small chapel, hermitage rooms and paths through the woodland.

Why it matters

The hermitage stands at about 800 metres on the southern slope of Monte Subasio. Francis and his first companions came here for periods of prayer and solitude. The name reflects the sense of “carcerare” as withdrawal for prayer rather than imprisonment. The buildings are set against living rock within the surrounding holm-oak wood, preserving the retreat's close relationship with the landscape.

What to notice

The Grotta di San Francesco is divided into two chambers. One contains a stone bed traditionally associated with Francis; the other is identified as a place of prayer and meditation. Nearby, the Oratorio di Santa Maria delle Carceri preserves the setting where Francis and his first brothers are said to have gathered for common prayer. Above the refectory door is an IHS sun disc, the monogram of San Bernardino da Siena. The triangular cloister has two wells overlooking the ravine. Across the bridge are the grottoes associated with Friar Leone and other companions, beneath an ancient holm oak linked by tradition to Francis preaching to the birds.

Context and history

When Francis first came here, the wood held natural caves. A small chapel existed in his lifetime, though its founding date is uncertain. After the community formally received the site in the fourteenth century, Paoluccio Trinci built permanent cells around the church of Santa Maria between 1370 and 1373. In the fifteenth century, at the urging of San Bernardino da Siena, the church, choir, refectory and dormitory were added against the rock face. Among the friars associated with the hermitage were Antonio da Stroncone, Francesco da Pavia and Giacomo della Marca. Barnaba Manassei da Terni, founder of Perugia's Monte di Pietà in 1462, is buried in the Cappella di Santa Maria Maddalena. The refectory preserves a late-sixteenth-century Last Supper fresco, while the old chapel has a Madonna and Child painted by Tiberio di Assisi in 1506.