About The Sanctuary of Ermo delle Carceri:
Above Assisi at a height of 2,595 feet (791 metres) above sea level on Mount (Monte) Subasio is The Sanctuary of Eremo delle Carceri (Eremo delle Carceri). The name Carceri derives from the Latin carceres, meaning “isolated places” or “prisons”.
In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi would often come to this place to pray and contemplate, as did other hermits before him. When he first came in 1205, the only building here was a tiny 12th-century oratory. Soon, other men followed him to the mountain, finding their own isolated caves nearby in which to pray. The oratory became known as Santa Maria delle Carceri after the small “prisons” occupied by friars in the area.
The site and the oratory was probably given by the Benedictines to St. Francis in 1215, at the same time they gave him the Porziuncola in the valley below. Francis dedicated himself to a life of preaching and missions, but throughout his life he would frequently withdraw to the Carceri to pray.
Around 1400, Saint Bernardino of Siena built a small friary, which includes a little choir and a simple refectory. The original wooden stalls of the choir and the tables of the refectory, which date from the 15th century, can still be seen on site. Saint Bernardino also enlarged the earlier chapel by building a small church, which was also named Santa Maria delle Carceri. It contains a notable altarpiece fresco of the Virgin and Child.
Traveling to the Sanctuary of Ermo delle Carceri in Assisi, Italy:
Address: Via Eremo delle Carceri, 38, 06081 Assisi PG, Italy
The Sanctuary is about two miles from Assisi.