📍 Distance from Cà del Bocca: about 30 km, 40 minutes by car
⏱️ Time needed: half a day
🗺️ Where: Tuscany, on Monte Penna, over 1,100 metres high, in the Foreste Casentinesi Park
The Sanctuary of La Verna stands on a rocky spur of Monte Penna, surrounded by a monumental forest of beech and fir trees. It is one of the places dearest to St Francis of Assisi, who received the stigmata here in 1224. Even visitors who do not come for religious reasons are struck by the silence, the rocks and the views over the Casentino and the Upper Tiber Valley.
What to see at La Verna
- The Basilica, with splendid glazed terracottas by Andrea della Robbia.
- The Corridor of the Stigmata and the Chapel of the Stigmata, built where Francis received the stigmata.
- The Sasso Spicco, a huge overhanging rock where the saint withdrew to pray.
- The square with the great cross and the view, and the trails through the forest up to the summit of Monte Penna.
- Nearby, the Eremo di Cerbaiolo, an ancient hermitage linked to the Franciscan tradition, shown on our map.
How to get there from Cà del Bocca
La Verna is about 40 minutes away: drive up towards Caprese Michelangelo and then follow the signs for La Verna. Our Google map shows the route, together with the Eremo di Cerbaiolo.
Tips for your visit
- Every afternoon the friars walk in procession along the corridor to the Chapel of the Stigmata: a moving moment even for onlookers.
- It is cooler up there than in the valley: bring a jacket even in summer.
- Dress respectfully: it is still an active place of worship.
Stay at Cà del Bocca, 40 minutes from La Verna
Two self-contained apartments in the countryside of Anghiari, the ideal base for exploring Tuscany and Umbria.
