Hermitages of Abruzzo - Sant'Onofrio di Serramonacesca

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

Hermitage built in the rock (Serramonacesca, 700 m)
Information and visits: Serramonacesca Town hall. The hermitage is always open. How to get there: leave the motorway (A25 Pescara-Rome) at Scafa and follow directions to Pescara, soon after take the turning to Manoppello and Serramonacesca. Reach Serramonacesca and follow the signs for San Liberatore. Before reaching the Badia a crossroads on the right leads to Contrada Brecciarola. Afer passing Brecciarola and enjoyng the beautiful view of Castelmenardo, there is a sharp bend and the crossroads for Piana Pù: after a hundred meters of cart track you can park on a little plateau. On the left of the only building, a visible path, with steps built in the rock, leads to the hermitage (20 minutes).

The presence of the cave, not very far from the Abbey of San Liberatore, made Sant'Onofrio a retreat for the monks living in the convent, at least initially. Then because of its position on a busy road to the mountain it was turned into a kind of shed of the abbey, where its agro-pastoral interests and business were looked after. In the absence of historic documents we cannot say for certain when the hermitage was built. It can only be assumed that the period of its construction was long and took place from the 11th to the 14th century, a flourishing era for San Liberatore and for the religious life of the Maiella Mountain. The construction uses, as usual, some natural cavities that are successively enlarged, adapted and closed on the front. The initial nucleus of the Hermitage consisted of a small shelter, closed by the wall of the altar, which gives access to a cave that narrows into a burrow, which has not been fully explored. At the internal end of it some osteological remains, probably from burial operations, have been found.

A few metres from the hermitage there is a fountain with a drinking trough; below there are the interesting remains of a more ancient one. The hermitage is still visited particularly on June 12th, the recurrence of the Saint. Many pilgrims arrive there early in the morning from the neighbouring villages and it is not uncommon to see the faithful lie down on the rock in a corner of the shelter, called the "Cradle" of Sant’Onofrio, to cure their stomach-ache and the persistent fevers, according to the ancient rite of lithotherapy. After the church service and a sumptuous breakfast served at the nearby fountain you go back to the village in the afternoon to participate in the procession. In the creation of the legend of this place of worship there are some recurrent elements common to this kind of legend: the apparition of the sacred image, its transfer to the parish, the miraculous return to its original place and the footprints left on the rock along the way.

Text abd photo by Edoardo Micati