This
religious itinerary includes the visit to
the Cathedral of St.Panfilo, to Celestino
V's Hermitage and to the Sanctuary of Hercules
Curino in Sulmona and to Saint Venanzio's
Hermitage in Raiano.
Saint Onofrio Hermitage
St Onofrio on Mount Morrone:
That is the hermitage where five ambassadors
of the Conclave announced to the hermit
Pietro his election as Pope
Celestine V on 5 July 1294.
In the same place it took place Celestine's
decline, as two months after his refusal
the soldiers took him away from his hermitage
and locked him up until his death into
the Tower of the Castle of Fumone. It
is said his soul went and see St
Onofrio Hermitage on Mount Morrone
again before entering heaven.
Also it is said he appeared to his dear
follower, Roberto from Salle, a friar
who lived with Pietro in the hermitage.
It was 19 May 1296 A.C.
On St Onofrio Hermitage
lies a small church, an ideal place for
spiritual retreats. You can have a wonderful
view of the whole Peligna Valley from
there.
Badia, 650 mt.
The Sanctuary of Hercules Curino
L'AQUILA - In 1254 the
inhabitants of the popular 99 castles
were reunited by Conrad IV thanks to an
executive diploma issued by Frederic II
from Swabia: it stated the construction
of the city, which was probably named
after the village Acculi.
The remains of the Roman Sanctuary dating
back to the I century B.C. and dedicated
to Hercules Curino are
at the foot of Mount Morrone, not very
far from Badia Morronese, founded by Celestine
V.
Badia, 650 mt.
The Cathedral of St Panfilo (the
Crypt in photo)
The wonderful Cathedral of St Panfilo,
the Patron Saint of Sulmona, is one of
the most beautiful churches in the city.
The former medieval building was built
and restored several times throughout
the ages: today it is a mixture of romanesque-gothic
and baroque art. The main portal, dating
back to the XIV century, is Gothic and
it shows in the lunetta a fresco by Leonardo
from Teramo.
Inside the Cathedral a romanesque double
colonnade stands as it was in the past;
in the right nave you can see a XIII-century
wooden Crucifix. In the XI-century crypt
visitors can admire a beautiful XII-century
basrelief (Madonna with Holy Child) and
a XV-century silver bust of St Panfilo.
Sulmona, 400 mt.
Saint Venanzio's Hermitage in
Raiano
The surrounding unpolluted environment
makes the hermitage,
set among rock faces, even more attracting.
The fifteenth-century hermitage is founded
on a system of arches anchored to the
rocks just where the gorges get narrower.
The hermitage is made
up of an upper level, where the church
and the hermit's cells lie, and a lower
level, where you can visit the loggia
suspended on the river Aterno and the
Chapel of the seven Marie.
Raiano, 400 mt.
