Eremo delle Carceri

A ‘thin’ place of connection with God, run by humble friars. The main centre was quite busy and museum like, with a well laid out and preserved history of this hermitage of St Francis and his brothers and those who built this monastery after. The two gems for for were: 1)the time with God hiking there. It was beautiful, and the first half was harder than I expected. I was glad I left nearly in the morning and wore good shoes. I did notice others walked along the road to get there. (You can drive as well, thus lots of people there.) 2) taking time out in the caves and spots of worship on the grounds. There was even a pilgrimage mass going on at the far end - so lovely. Not only was this a moment of historic learning, it was a time of deep connection with Jesus.

Hermitage of St Francis. Beautiful surroundings. Very peaceful

Very beautiful and peaceful place. If you go to Assisi you must go. Free entrance

Breathtaking and very picturesque place. Great piece of culture that can be appreciated by both believers and atheists.

A refuge in the hills above Assisi. Established by Francis of Assisi in the 13th century, this place has offered solace for countless people over the centuries. The buildings are a working monastery, with preserved historic sites, accommodations, chapels and outside areas for reflection. It is free to visit.

An enchanting spot in the hills. Would highly recommend walking up and taking the forest path - everyone seems to walk up the road but there is a very clearly signed path from the city wall which goes up through the forest. It is a challenging uphill climb but well worth it for the views and peaceful site. Plus the feeling of pride at the summit! The hermitage complex is stunning and well worth the walk up.

If you go to Assisi, a beautiful sanctuary to go to is Eremo Della Carceri. You can walk the 4 km up hill, with spectacular views which takes between 1-1 1/2 hrs. There is a welcome cafe at the entrance 🙂. The caves here are where St Francis and his brothers lived and prayed and the monastery was built around them. The grounds on the mountainside are so peaceful to walk and pray in. The monastery has some small passages and narrow stairways, but this adds to the atmosphere. The monks there are very welcoming. Beautiful.

The exact place where our faithful St Francis lived all his life. It's a holy ground, very peaceful environment for a deep meditation and also you visit the room of our faithful St Francis. You connect your life with the heavens when u get here.

This is St. Francis' hermitage, the place where he would escape to from Assisi town, to pray and meditate along with his 4 companions. Thank God the Franciscan brothers still keep this place sparse and little decorated and it hasn't been made into a tourist circus like the town has. Many of them regularly walk the trails in the woods also to make sure tourists and pilgrims are not acting stupid. This is a holy sanctuary. This is the place where the stories of St. Francis preaching to the birds, receiving the vision of the angels and even levitating while experiences his spiritual ecstasies happened. If you want to come here and meditate and experience the same serenity that St. Francis did, by all means do so, there are many places in the woods and trails here for that and if you are in the right state of mind, stay quite and reverent and in a receptive state, some magical insights will come to you given how much St. Francis loved nature. St. Francis' energy is here but you have to be very patient and quiet to pick up on it, it is not in the town nor in the basilica where his bones and relics are. You'll get the feeling that you are a million miles away from the ugliness of the world but please take a reverent attitude here instead of an obnoxious, tacky tourist one. I saw both types of behavior in action here unfortunately. I saw very quiet and serious Italian pilgrims here given that the day I came was immediately after St. Francis' Feast Day. I also saw a yogini barefoot and doing a serious session of Earthing but I also saw the most obnoxious, loud, rude and uncouth Asian and Eastern European tourists who only show up because their guidebook tells them to but don't understand the significance of this place, the same types I saw at the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Greek island of Patmos, Mount Shasta in California and who had literally taken over the Sistine Chapel, they walk through the hermitage with the same amounts of poise and discretion as a brontosaurus, without even a second's worth of appreciation, take their stupid selfies and leave. Seriously, if that's the attitude you take, why bother even coming here? I spent a good three hours here, walking the trails and meditating at the the outdoor alters in the woods and in the caves that Francis' four closest brothers often went into seclusion to, for the purposes of deep, deep meditation and prayer, specifically Brother Leo, Brother Masseo, Brother Rufino and Brother Angelo. All four of their caves are here. I seriously hope the Franciscan Brothers can protect this place, this is one of the last real pure, spiritual refuges left in this world.

This magical place will blow your mind! Spend at least two hours here to silently soak up the peaceful atmosphere. This place is gorgeous and holy. It's kind of a long and steep walk from town so you may want to ride up in a car. You should bring some water if you want to hike around here because you won't find food or beverages for sale here.