The Hermitage is an ancient Franciscan place on Mount Subasio, 4 km from Assisi, located at 800 meters above sea level, in the heart of a centuries-old holm oak forest. It is one of the Franciscan shrines kept by the Friars Minor of the Seraphic Province of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The word Prison does not mean "prison", it derives from the Latin "carcer", which means secluded, solitary place, therefore suitable for the life of prayer. Francis, his companions and, after them, the friars came here for limited periods of prayer.

The place consisted of a large rock block, with caves used as cells for the individual friars and a small central and visible Oratory where the brothers converged for common prayer, the Eucharistic Celebration.

Towards the middle of the 14th century, the friars began to live there permanently in very poor homes. Then, at the beginning of the 1400s, at the instigation of Saint Bernardino of Siena, the small church, the choir, the refectory and the dormitory were built with small cells for the friars leaning against the rock.

The other constructions were carried out in the following centuries, according to the needs of the moment. Numerous friars, recognized for their holiness of life, have lived here over the centuries, including Blessed Antonio da Stroncone, Blessed Francesco da Pavia and San Giacomo della Marca.

The little Cloister

The Hermitage, in this fold of the rock, reveals in an exceptional way the creation, the nature, the works of God as the revelation of his love. Francis filled himself with joy contemplating nature, diving his eyes into the greenery and keeping his mind absorbed in God. Here and in the sweet Umbrian countryside he contemplated the wonders of the Lord and loved to speak joyfully to larks and all animals.

From this terrace your gaze sweeps through the incredibly green forest in search of the caves of the Saint's first disciples and of all those men who came up here, amidst a solitude full of God and at the same time full of so much silence.

Hundreds of friars, throughout the eight centuries of Franciscan history, have stopped in this place to draw energy, grace and light for an immense undertaking: to transform the world with the revolutionary leaven of the Gospel and poverty, to be generous donors of spiritual riches to everyone.

In the hanging cloister there is the well of San Francesco. From here you can access the convent, the ancient church and the chapel of S. Mary followed by the cave of San Francesco which leads, via a small bridge, to the other part of the forest.

The Convent

The Sanctuary, anchored to the rock of the mountain, has been expanded over the centuries with the imaginative inventiveness and creativity of the poor. On the ancient Hermitage, Saint Bernardino of Siena (sec. 15th) he had a tiny convent built, a masterpiece of Franciscan simplicity and perfect harmony.

The convent emerges between the patch of deep green of the forest and the scent of the plants, with a splendid architecture in its linear and sober simplicity, softly set in nature at the service of spirit and life. The convent is accessed through the refectory dug into the rock.

Above it there is a short corridor with the friars' cells, which clings to the mountain and which expresses very well –in naked and intact simplicity – that spirit of poverty, which drew on the very exemplary life of Francis continued to flourish in the Minorite Order.

Chapel of Santa Maria Maddalena

Fra Barnaba da Terni, creator and founder in 1462 of the "Monte di Pietà" of Perugia, is buried here: an institution to support those who, finding themselves in need, could receive an interest-free loan, leaving a pledge in deposit.

Oratory of Santa Maria

From the tiny hanging cloister you find yourself in the 14th century church with a small bell tower, where the altar and a tiny choir invite contemplation. From the church you enter the ancient oratory of S. Mary, witness of the prayer of Francis and of the first community: it is the very small Oratory where the Saint with his companions met for prayer in common.

Wherever Francis could create a small church to pray, the Saint wanted it in the style of the Porziuncola and always dedicated to the «Mother of all goodness».
Next to the little church is a tiny choir of friars to chant reading from the single breviary and silently support thinking of God and loving him.

Monogram of San Bernardino of Siena

It consists of the initials of the Name of Jesus Savior of Men (IHS) inscribed in a solar disk.
"Jesus Light of the Gentiles" is in fact a recurring theme in Bernardino's preaching.

Cave of San Francesco

When Francis first came here, there were only natural caves in the heart of the dense bush. They imposed their taste and architectural style on the buildings, respected with veneration over the centuries. Through a narrow passage you descend to the Saint's cave.

Francis had truly placed his nest in the rock. Almost imprisoned in this hollow of stone, he immersed himself more and more deeply in meditation on the passion of his Lord and while his hands clung to the rock, the memory of Christ's death became stronger.

The holm oak, the forest and the valley

A bridge connects the Hermitage to the other side of the forest, where the caves of Brother Leo and other companions of the Saint are still visible. Here the gaze stops on the centuries-old holm oak and seems to listen again to the words of the Saint full of love for birds:

«My winged brethren, much you must praise your Creator and always love Him for He gave you the feathers to clothe you and the feathers to fly... He made you noble among other creatures and allowed you to dwell in the clarity of the air... you do not sow or reap, yet he himself protects and governs you without any concern of yours. And they were showing signs of exultation by spreading their necks and stretching their wings... then he blessed them by giving them license to leave.»

The gorge of this mountain is not closed, two immense ribs in fact open towards the Umbrian plain. They seem to spread out like two mighty arms to embrace the world, like Francis and his men who, invigorated in spirit, descended among their brothers to announce to all the love, tenderness and mercy of God