Tour - Destinazione Subasio

Arrival of pilgrims in Chiusi della Verna, accommodation in the hotel in the reserved rooms, dinner and overnight stay.

The Sanctuary of La Verna is located in the Tuscan Apennines. The mountain, covered by a monumental forest of beech and fir trees, is visible from all over the Casentino and the upper Val Tiberina and has an unmistakable shape with its summit (1283 m) cut vertically on three sides. Above the fortress and surrounded by the forest is the large complex of the Sanctuary, which in its massive and articulated architecture holds numerous treasures of spirituality, art, culture and history. In the summer of 1224, St Francis retired to Monte della Verna for his customary periods of silence and prayer. During his stay, he asked God to allow him to participate with all of himself in the Passion of Christ, a mystery of love and sorrow. The Lord listened to him and appeared to him in the form of a crucified seraphim, leaving him as a gift the seals of his passion. Francis thus also became the exterior image of Christ to whom he already bore so much resemblance in heart and life. The event of the stigmata and the example of his life are the most precious possession that Francis gives to the brothers of La Verna. The demanding legacy of St Francis not only involves each friar personally, but also becomes the main message that the community wishes to transmit to all those who visit La Verna.

Lunch break during the day, continuation of the pilgrimage to Pieve Santo Stefano and transfer to Pietralunga. Accommodation, dinner and overnight stay.

We continue our journey through the Franciscan places in Umbria, from the wonderful town of Gubbio, whose history is closely linked to that of St Francis. According to the story told in Chapter XXI of the Fioriti, it was here, near the church of the Madonna della Vittoria, known as the Vittorina, that Saint Francis miraculously managed to tame a ferocious wolf that had been terrorising the inhabitants for some time. Free time for lunch. Accommodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and meeting with the guide, departure for Biscina. Halfway between Assisi and Gubbio stands the castle of Biscina. The 12th century Biscina Castle, together with the surrounding castles of Giomici, Vallingegno, Petroia and Coccorano, was one of the strategic control points of the ancient road and the Chiascio river, which flows at the foot of the hill. The castle is included in the "Franciscan Path", which will connect Assisi and Gubbio internally, thus enabling the rediscovery of minor shrines and forgotten sheep-tracks. Accommodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

From Biscina begins a long descent with some ups and downs that takes us to the geographical area of Valfabbrica, on the border between Gubbio and Assisi. It is said that St. Francis stopped in Valfabbrica several times and is therefore to be considered an important stop for pilgrims. We continue along the Via di San Francesco, also known as the Path of Peace, for a stop in the medieval centre of Valfabbrica. Here we find the 14th-century Church of San Sebastiano, renovated in the 16th century by the confraternities of the Santissimo Sacramento and Buona Morte, and, just outside the walls, the 17th-century Church of the Madonna della Foce . Accommodation, dinner at the hotel and overnight stay.

From Valfabbrica there are two paths leading to Assisi: a longer path that passes through the forest and another, defined as shorter, but very difficult and tiring. Either one or the other, the fact is that you have to cross the hill and then see the magical town of Assisi on the horizon. Free time for lunch. Arrival in Assisi, hotel accommodation and overnight stay.

A day dedicated to the discovery of Assisi, the Franciscan place par excellence, not only in Umbria and Italy, but all over the world. In fact, St Francis was born in Assisi in 1182; in the place where his birthplace is believed to have been located, today stands the Chiesa Nuova. It is in Assisi that he was baptised, in the Cathedral of San Rufino; it is in its alleys that he spent his youth dreaming of a future as a valiant knight; it is here, where the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore stands today, in the Piazza del Vescovado, that he stripped himself, repudiating earthly goods for love of God and his brothers. It is still in Assisi, in the Church of San Damiano, that, praying before the Crucifix, she receives the task of renewing Christ's Church; it is in the town square that she begins her preaching and her work of charity and peace, and it is here, finally, that she dies in 1226. His remains are preserved in the Basilica of St Francis, but the saint still lives on in every stone of Assisi. We stroll through its enchanting alleys and visit the Franciscan sites.

Lunch in a local restaurant - drinks included.

After lunch we visit Santa Maria Degli Angeli. Inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, at the foot of Assisi, is the 'Porziuncola', a small church restored by St. Francis in which the saint founded the Order of Friars Minor in 1209, entrusting it to the protection of the Virgin Mary. The Portiuncula is the heart of Franciscanism, the place where Francis discussed with his friars the 'Rule' of the order and sought new life for the preaching of the Gospel in the world. The Basilica complex also houses the Rose Courtyard. According to sources, one night Francis, gripped by doubt and temptation, rolled among the brambles in the rose garden to test himself and not give in to what could have separated him from God and his mission. On contact with the saint's skin, the roses turned into thornless roses, giving rise to the 'Rosa Canina Assisiensis', which has continued to bloom only at the Portiuncula since then.

Departure and end of our services.