Hermitage of San Marco (Eremo di San Marco)

From the imposing chestnut forest, the main path leads to a clearing located on a huge travertine spur, overlooking the forest. On the rock face, you can see, at the top right, the fascinating structure of the Hermitage of San Marco, a natural cavity closed by a church-shaped building with a bell tower and connected to the path by a stone staircase. The wall, in Romanesque style, is made of ashlar stones and has a single-lancet window and five double-lancet windows.In ancient times, the building housed a convent founded by Cistercian monks at the beginning of the 13th century and consists of two overlapping rooms, connected by a staircase resting on the rock. It is a very “poor” construction, which recalls the Benedictine monastic rule.
Inside the Hermitage, it is still possible to find traces of the primitive frescoes painted by the monks on the walls and on the vault of the lower room. On the ceiling of the cave, the splendid “tapestry” of maidenhair fern is noteworthy.The Hermitage of San Marco has been restored and brought back to its maximum splendor. It retains its evocative power that attracts tourists and travelers, lovers of history and nature.
(c) visitascoli.it/esperienze/colle-san-marco-meta-di-eremiti-nel-corso-dei-secoli