Chiusi della Verna - May 5 and 6

Villa delle Rose at Chiusi La Verna, a guesthouse for those visiting the sanctuary above. Very kind nuns.

Well, I've escaped from the Creepy Convent of Pratovecchio, and am now sitting in the sun outside my next destination, Villa delle Rose, another convent guesthouse, in the little town of Chiusi della Verna, and very different from Pratovecchio.  This is a pleasant little town with a decidedly alpine feel, being set in the Casentino National Park. The forest here is one of Europe's oldest remaining in its natural state, and is considered one of the gems in Italy's crown of national parks. The bus up from Bibbiena was an adventure, a very narrow road, it felt at some points as if we were going to hurtle off into the valley, but the driver is very capable and drives this route four times a day. I was reassured by the rosaries hanging from the driver's mirror; if I died I would surely be going straight to heaven as a pilgrim of St Francis. The sanctuary of La Verna is a group of rocks that Francis used as a place of retreat and meditation, and where orthodox Catholicism says he received the stigmata. Apart from its spiritual attractions, it is a very lovely place. A footpath from the village up to the Sanctuary leaves just next door to the restaurant. Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow for my walk. 

The beginning of the footpath up to the Sanctuary. Spring has just touched this high place; many of the trees have only just budded out, on the lowlands they are already in full leaf.

Street in Chiusi della Verna.

Found a large group of orchids on a piece of waste ground

 6 May.
Today I walked up to the Sanctuary. Funny how things are always different from what you expect. I was prepared for loads of bus parties, tourist tat and hawkers, but there was none of that. (Perhaps more on holidays and feast days). A beautiful walk up through forest to a spectacular outcropping of granite, with the chapels of the sanctuary perched on top. On the other side of the hill is a monastery and car park, but approaching along the footpath, you see none of that.

The granite cliffs with the sanctuary on top. Incredible spring green!

Lots of plants among the trees are the wild originals of our garden plants; symphytum, eyebright, forget-me-not, muscari, hellebore and ajuga.

The little church is the first on the site, on the flat top of the outcrop. It contains beautiful della Robbia terracotte.

The basilica was built later, but is still modest in size, fitting in with the wild surroundings

This is a passageway underneath the Sasso Spicco, the jutting-out rock that St Francis sat on. There is also a cave-like shelter where he first slept on his initial trip to the rock.

The Devil is reputed to have tried to throw Francis down this cliff. Flocks of swallows wheel and dive around the rocks and buildings, just as they did at Assisi. They should be called the Birds of St Francis.

The piazza of the Sanctuary. You can imagine how foot-numbingly cold this place would have been for the monks in winter-time, covered in snow.

Modern pilgrims soaking up the spring sun.

The beech forest grows out of the rocks.

A potted olive tree lit up by a shaft of light outside the original chapel

I had lunch at the monastery refectory (open to the public). It was very cheerful, and we were served by Franciscan laypeople from a great big kitchen, steamy and busy. I had globe artichokes for the first time, and they were very good, but are producing a good deal of wind! I'm sleeping underneath the nuns' rooms, hope I don't keep them awake all night.

So on this high point my adventures in Italy end. La Verna is very special and I'm glad I came here, I'll keep the memory of this place for ever. Tomorrow I go back to Arezzo, then to Rome, Singapore and home. Will I come back to Italy? I don't know, but it certainly has been a great trip.