Casentino Valley - Holy Places
The mountains and forests in the
Casentino valley have always been an ideal environment for prayer and concentration. This region, so rich in Etruscan and Paleochristian temples, presents a lot of
monasteries, cloisters and pievi: treasures of Tuscan art and architecture that have earned the Casentino valley the appellation of
Spiritual Valley.
Monastery of Camaldoli
Camaldoli
Camaldoli, with its Hermitage and Monastery, is one of the most lively aspects of Italian monasticism. St. Romuald arrived here in 1012 with a few disciples, and built the first five cells together with a small chapel. The 16th-century Monastery is characterized by a very simple architectural structure and is built around a "mountain" cloister with only two rows of round arches. Of special interest are the five altar-pieces painted by Vasari and preserved in the Church of Santi Donato and llariano, where Mannerism excels in shapes and colours, especially in the altar-piece portraying Christ`s Deposition from the Cross. The pharmacy or centuries-old galenic laboratory, is worth a visit.
Hermitage of Camaldoli
The Hermitage, a few kilometres higher up, combines the monkish (community) with the hermit-like (solitary) way of life, thus striking a balance between solitude and a community life. At this particularly evocative Hermitage on account of the presence of the monks` cells, it is possible to visit St. Romuald`s bare cell, which clashes with the Neapolitan Baroque-style of the church, housing valuable works of art.
Sanctuary of La Verna
The Mountain of La Verna, one of the holiest places of Christianity, is indissolubly connected to the life of
St. Francis of Assisi. This is the place where he received from Christ the "final seal" of the stigmata, in September 1224. Rich in natural beauties and works of art, it has been a centre of attraction and spreading of the Franciscan message for nearly eight centuries.
The Sanctuary consists of a vast and various complex of buildings dating back
to different periods which, however, still retain a peculiar unity.
The small Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the Chiesa Maggiore or Basilica,
the corridor of the Stigmata with frescoes referring to the Saint`s life and the
Church of the Stigmata, heart of the Sanctuary, form part of this complex.
Andrea della Robbia, as Vasari relates," carried out in this church and in other
places of the Sasso della Verna... many altar-pieces which were preserved in
that desert place, where no painting would have resisted, even for a few
years".
Here, under the "Sasso Spicco" (an impressing rock jutting out from the
mountain), St. Francis "meditated and passionately wept for his crucified
Christ".
Basilica and Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso (Bibbiena)
The Sanctuary of S. Maria del Sasso, a pure example of Renaissance art, is located one kilometre away from the village of Bibbiena. In the upper church, the charming central temple housing the
Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the rock) portrayed by Bicci di Lorenzo, is based on a small rock forming the top of a huge boulder: the
Rock. Hence the name of the Sanctuary, related to a unique and deep-rooted tradition and cult of the Virgin Mary, so worthy of respect as to convince the architect not to hide the base of the large "Boulder" and to create a small lower church housing the
Madonna del Buio (Madonna of Darkness), a wooden sculpture by the school of
Donatello. The third church boasts a precious painting by Lappoli. The upper church contains a glazed terracotta and works by Fra` Paolino del Signoraccio, Ligozzi and Ludovico Buti.
In the choir, a large altar-piece portraying Our Lady of the Assumption by Fra` Paolino and Fra` Bartolomeo. The monastery retains a magnificent 16th-century cloister.
Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista also known as the "Monastery of the Camaldolensian Nuns" (Pratovecchio)
Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, it houses precious works of art. In its ancient pharmacy, it features an original two-metre-high stone alembic. In the church, one can admire the central part of a polyptych portraying the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a work by the artist known as the
Maestro of Pratovecchio.
The Coronation or
Glorification of the Virgin Mary is by Giovanni Bizelli, a member of the last generation of Mannerists.
... from
Casentino Sviluppo e Turismo
