In the caves on the slope of Monte Sulasio just outside the walls of Assisi, St. Francis (1181-1226) and his followers established their first home at the Carceri Hermitage. He often returned here during his life to pray and contemplate. The peacefully isolated church and monastery on the densely wooded slopes retain the tranquil contemplative air loved by Saint Francis. The day I spent at the sacred place plein air painting, I could imagine what life could have been like for Saint Francis and his followers. This short narrow stairway leads down to the Grotto of St. Francis, where the saint prayed and slept on a small, stone bed while on retreat toward the end of his life.
In the caves on the slope of Monte Sulasio just outside the walls of Assisi, St. Francis (1181-1226) and his followers established their first home at the Carceri Hermitage. He often returned here during his life to pray and contemplate. The peacefully isolated church and monastery on the densely wooded slopes retain the tranquil contemplative air loved by Saint Francis. The day I spent at the sacred place plein air painting, I could imagine what life could have been like for Saint Francis and his followers. This short narrow stairway leads down to the Grotto of St. Francis, where the saint prayed and slept on a small, stone bed while on retreat toward the end of his life.