It is said that the Maiella, be a sacred mountain. According to legend, Maja collapsed here, destroyed by the loss of her son Hermes. And it is here, in this difficult and blessed land, where they are splendid. hermitages: the hermitages of Pietro da Morrone, who became Pope Celestine V.
Why is Maiella, in Abruzzo, considered sacred? Because here the events of the gods are intertwined with faith and the place is permeated with spirituality. It is said that Hermes was buried under the Gran Sasso, hence nicknamed "The Giant"; and that her mother, Maja, found refuge from pain in a nearby massif that - from that moment on - took the name of Maiella. But this mountain was also home to monks in search of the Divine. Forks the ideal place, with its lunar landscapes, meadows and streams, to meditate and reflect.
Maiella was even chosen by two hermits which, then, were elected popes: Dufer (Pope Victor III) e Pietro da Morrone (Celestine V). Born in Molise, the latter left at the age of twenty to reach Rome and be consecrated a priest, but A snow storm forced him to seek shelter right in Maiella: Here he found a cave, and stayed there for three years, beginning his life as a hermit. Already ordained a priest, he took refuge in a cave on Mount Morroneand then in the Roccamorice valley: here he built an extraordinary hermitage, located 600 meters above sea level and entirely excavated in the rock.
Built under a rock around the year 1000 and renovated by Pietro da Morrone, it is instead theErmita de Santo Spirito a Maiella. While in the municipality of Sulmona there is theHermitage of Sant'Onofrio, where Celestine V moved in 1293 and where he received the news that he had been named Pope. Finally the last hermitage, that of Saint John: It is the most fascinating and the most difficult to reach, since it can only be reached via a staircase that leads to a 16-meter-long ledge that, in the last three meters, requires you to crawl upside down.
What is the best way to get to the hermitages of Celestine V? Board the Italian Trans-Siberian Railway for an excursion in the heart of Abruzzo and Molise, between national parks and nature reserves, through mountains and narrow gorges. We start from Sulmona and arrive at the Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo station, then we go down to Castel di Sangro, we go up to San Pietro Avellana and we go down again to Isernia.
aboard a historical convoy With the Centoporte and Corbellini wagons built between 1920 and 1930 you reach Maiella. And we will discover, through fascinating Hiking, of those extraordinary hermitages.
