When we visited Assisi we went up to Eremo delle Carceri, a few miles up Mt. Subasio, where St. Francis went to pray. There is a beautiful beech and oak forest with dark trunks perched over a steep grade, and paths and grottoes where pilgrims pray. I found it very moving to spend time in this place where a person of great character walked many centuries before. I imagined him finding a peace here that allowed him to develop many of his ideas, the compassion for other people and the love of nature and creation.
To the right is a cyclamen which is native to the forest, growing among leaf litter and bright blocks of limestone.
To the left is a mushroom we saw growing beneath the dark canopy of trees.
St. Francis called these caves Carceri because he thought they were a little bit like prison cells. He had spent time in a very dark and dank one in Perugia--as a young man he had joined a group from Assisi battling Perugia; most of his fellow soldiers were killed in the battle and those who remained were imprisoned.
I am so glad you visited the Eremo and you enjoyed the visit. It is a special place, though of course I know I am biased. And yet, it feels new and fresh every time I go there. And you saw cyclamens: they were my favorite flowers as a kid. The fall ones are paler than the ones that bloom in the spring.
Posted by: Simona | October 22, 2012 at 10:35 PM
Simona, thank you so much for making the recommendation to go to Eremo. Ah, cyclamens--I have some blooming in my front yard right now. They were also blooming at San Fedele. And an Italian student just brought me a pot!
Posted by: Molly Hashimoto | October 23, 2012 at 08:01 AM