In the heart of the National Park of the Casentinese Forests, among trails of stratified rocks and woods populated by wolves, boar, and deer, there are two of the most well-known Itailan Christian spiritual centres: the Camaldoli Retreat and the Verna Sanctuary. They both have a peaceful sublime atomosphere that for generations has attracted thousands of visitors a year
In Camaldoli, the monk, San Romualdo, innaugurated the benedictine order, founding the first Monastery and then the retreat. In the monastery, there is a grand room, a guest room and an old galley laboratory that can still be visited where the monks used to work with plants and spices for their medicinal value. Next door, there is a baroque style church that is home to many of Vasari's works.
The retreat is in the same place at 1,100 metres. Founded in the XIth century, monks moved there who wanted to live a cloistered life, surrounded by the forest. Here you take in the atmosphere that would have been similar to that experienced by San Romualdo, who became a monk at the young age of 20. His small cell, in the shape of a spiral, symbolizes the interior journey of the saint towards an understanding of himself.
In one of the Camaldoli cells, San Francesco d'Assisi is supposed to have lived for a certain period. Not far from here, on teh Monte della Verna, Assisi found the ideal place to bring his life in comunion with nature. In 1213, the Count of Chiusi in Casentino, Orlano Catani, wanted to offer him and his companions the 'very devoted, solitary, and wild' Verna Mount.
The monastic complex, which is located over the Arno, and the Santa Maria degli Angeli Church date back to the XIIIth century, while the Maggiore Church, which holds an extraordinary collection of Andrea della Robbia's terracottas, dates back to 1358.
What has made the Sanctuary a special place is the fact that in 1224, San Francesco received the Sacre Stimmata. since then, the Verna has been an important place for pilgrims and visitors who are search of natural beauty and a sense of profound spirituality. As the writing above the door of the retreat says: “Non est in toto sanctior orbe mons” (there is no more sacred mount in the world).
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It is possible to plan short stays in Camaldoli and the Verna for individuals, families, or groups of friends. In Camaldoli, you can experience monastic and comunal life and in Verna, there is a guestroom, a Refractory for pilgrims, a Tau monastery for groups without a guide and a house of worship.
Web: www.camaldoli.it; www.santuariolaverna.org
Author: Toscana & Chianti News
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