Day 7 Chiusi della Verna: relaxing day in the Franciscan monastery

This morning I spend a lot of time in the monastery. It was built over the cave where Francis lived as a hermit and received his stigmata. Anyone who comes here should definitely visit the monastery museum. What I find very pleasant is that everything is free to visit and there are no souvenir shops. So, despite the many visitors who arrive here this morning (most of them monks and nuns), I experience the monastery as a place of peace.

Inspiration for Michelangelo

Now it's time to put on your hiking boots again and head down the mountain to Chiusi della Verna, the small town below the rock. Michelangelo is said to have been so taken with the landscape here that he immortalized it in his painting "The Creation of Adam" (in the Sistine Chapel).

Today a village with closed shutters

Chiusi Stella Verna is a pretty, sprawling mountain village. Now, at the end of April, the streets are empty. Every other house has closed shutters. Everything seems deserted but well-kept. The holiday season will probably wake this place from its deep sleep.

After a very short journey, I am staying for one night in a Franciscan monastery in Chiusi della Verna. Unfortunately, low clouds are blocking the view. It has started to rain heavily, followed by heavy sleet, which is falling on the meadows like snow. And it is still very cold (unfortunately also in the room). Tomorrow it will be sunny (they say) and then we will continue on to Caprese Micheangelo.