Hermitages of Abruzzo - San Giovanni all'Orfento

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Eremi of Abruzzo o • San Giovanni • San Bartolomeo • Santo Spirito • S.Onofrio al Morrone • S.Onofrio di Serra

A Celestinian hermitage built into the rock (Caramanico Terme-Pe 1220m). Information and visit: visitors’ permits can be obtained from the Orfento Valley Visitor’s Centre at Caramanico Terme. How to get there: Leave the motorway at Scafa (A25 Pescara-Roma) and go in the direction of Caramanico Terme. Just before arriving at the village, take the turning for Riga and Decontra. Go through Decontra di Caramanico and continue along a steep cart track until you get to Piana Grande. The entrance to the Orfento Nature Reserve is from Piana Grande where the road has been barred by the forest rangers. Take the path on the right through the wood, stopping at certain points to admire the breathtaking views of the upper part of the valley. The last part of the path is out of the wood. People with a fear of heights are advise not to go into the hermitage. The path is signposted (30 minutes from Piana Grande).

The hermit’s airy cell looks out over one of the most rugged walls of the Orfento valley. The natural beauty of the area and the unique position of the hermitage give San Giovanni an air of fascination and mystery. Pietro da Morrone withdrew to the hermitage with a few disciples in the hope that few would follow him into such a difficult place to reach, and remained there for nine years from 1284 to 1293. A testimony of the long period he spent there are the numerous miracles attributed to him during his retreat.

All we can see today is just the hermit’s quarters of the ancient convent: below it there was a small Church, the cells of the few monks who lived there and quarters for the many pilgrims who, undeterred by the inaccessible position of the place, flocked there attracted by the saintly fame of Pietro. Access to the hermitage is from some steps and a path dug into the wall of the mountain: close to the entrance this path is interrupted and reaching the hermitage becomes somewhat frightening given the steep drop below. In ancient times there was a wooden gangway to get round this obstacle. The hermitage consists of two small rooms dug into the rock with numerous niches and a small altar. Of particular note is the water supply system which was made completely in the rock.

Rain water was collected first in small purification tanks and then in a cistern. Recent archaeological digs have unearthed the foundations of an old monastery and many finds dating back to the Bronze Age. Perhaps because of its isolated position there are few important traditions regarding the hermitage: it is only mentioned in some legends concerning the Orfento valley and the Santo Spirito hermitage. The only thing worth mentioning is the old wives’ tale that illegitimate children aren’t able to walk along the narrow path which leads into the hermitage.

Text and photo by Edoardo Micati