La Verna Sanctuary

The La Verna Sanctuary (Santuario della Verna in Italian) is located in eastern Tuscany, on a wooded hill of the Mount Verna in the Apennines. It was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi at the beginning of the 13th century, on land which he received as a gift from Count Orlando Cattani.

The place stands on a rock, surrounded by the forest of Casentino, and suitable for meditation. In a small cave, a stone bed is designated as the one where Francis of Assisi slept.

Presentation

It is one of the most important Franciscan sanctuaries, both for its beauty and for its link with Saint Francis, where nature meets spirituality. It was here that Francis received the stigmata on 17 September 1224.
The complex includes the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli built by Francis himself, the Chapel of the Stigmata, or the Basilica dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. The latter preserves the Assumption sculpted by Andrea della Robbia.

The Museum of La Verna occupies 15th century rooms where the brothers lived. It exhibits liturgical objects, sculptures, reliquaries and paintings of the Florentine school of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
In the village of Chiusi della Verna one can observe the great similarity between the landscape and the rock on which Adam is lying in his representation of the Creation of Adam painted in the Sistine Chapel.

Where is the abbey of La Verna

Links and sources

• Official site: www.laverna.it
• Informations: La Verna on the site of the municipality, la Verna on visittuscany.com