Among small villages and abbeys – A path through the greener Marche and places of the spirit

Arrive of the group, meeting with the guide and visit of the Monastery of Fonte Avellana, located on the wooded slopes of Mount Catria, its origins date back to the end of the 10th century, when some hermits chose to build the first cells of a hermitage that over the centuries will become the current monastery. Today the complex consists of a large square that gives access to the church with a raised presbytery on the crypt of the eleventh century; it is the oldest part of the architectural complex, along with the cloister and scriptorium dating back to the twelfth century. Transfer to Frontone for lunch, a small medieval village characterized by its imposing Castle perched on a cliff overlooking a green valley. In the afternoon visit of the Abbey of San Vittore delle Chiuse In Romanesque style it is one of the most important churches of the Marche. A place of peace and tranquility. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the visit of the abbey Santa Maria di Chiaravalle di Fiastra, the highest testimony of the presence of the Cistercian monks in the Marche. The abbey is located in a secluded and unspoilt environment perfect for the rule orat et labora and is composed of the church, the cloister, the chapter house, the refectory, the cellarium and the oil mill hall. In the premises of the ancient cellars, the Wine Museum has been set up, displaying tools and objects used in the past for the processing of grapes. Stop for lunch in a guest house. Transfer to Corridonia to visit the Church of San Claudio al Chienti, of Romanesque origin still intact in its original shape and inserted in a still intact landscape. The structure, punctuated internally by four pillars to form a Greek cross inscribed in a square, with Byzantine and Lombard influences, is slender vertically from the two towers. According to studies the church would have been the palatine chapel of the imperial palace of Aachen of Charlemagne. Time to visit the town center. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the visit of the Hermitage of Saint Silvestro. Located at 890 m on a wide green platform overlooking the city of Fabriano, the surrounding valleys and hills is a real comfort for the spirit. Founded by Saint Silvestro Guzzolini in 1231 near the source Vembrici, as the seat of the new monastic order he constituted, has been the subject of many renovations over the centuries. The current appearance of the hermitage is attributable to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Lower Church, built in the thirteenth century, is dedicated to Saint Benedetto. Inside it is characterized by the presence of an efficient restoration laboratory of the ancient book, a historical library that boasts 70,000 volumes Return to Fabriano for lunch in the characteristic tavern of the center. In the afternoon visit to the Hermitage of the White Friars, a place where time seems to have stopped. It dates back to the early 11th century and is thought to have been founded by St. Romuald. The first caves were dug directly into the steep sandstone wall, only later the rest of the hermitage was built. End of services.