Name: Corridor of the Stigmata, Sanctuary of La Verna
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Italy

Tuscany

Arezzo

Chiusi Della Verna

Corridor of the Stigmata, Sanctuary of La Verna

Discover

Places to see

Italy

Tuscany

Arezzo

Chiusi Della Verna

Corridor of the Stigmata, Sanctuary of La Verna

Recommended by 50 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna

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Location: Chiusi Della Verna, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

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Best Hikes to Corridor of the Stigmata, Sanctuary of La Verna

4.8

(93)

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1. Sanctuary of La Verna – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chiusi della Verna

7.31km

02:31

340m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Intermediate

4.9

(57)

231

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2. Sanctuary of La Verna – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chiusi della Verna

3.57km

01:15

150m

Intermediate hike. Great for any fitness level. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Intermediate

4.6

(37)

115

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3. Cave of Saint Francis' Bed – Sasso Spicco loop from Chiusi della Verna

4.53km

01:30

220m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

Tips

Fede e Sonia

January 29, 2024

The Corridor of the Stigmata della Verna was built between the years 1578 and 1582. An architectural structure that served to connect the new large basilica of the Sanctuary with the much older Chapel of the Stigmata built around 1260 by the Counts Guidi of Poppi in homage to San Francis.

The corridor had a very specific practical function: to protect from the atmospheric agents, which were often particularly harsh in La Verna, the procession of the friars which at the time was held twice a day, at night and in the afternoon (today it is held only in the afternoon, at 3pm 3.30pm towards the chapel, 3.30pm towards the basilica). A legend tells us that the decision to build the corridor was taken after a strong night storm had made the friars desist from practicing this religious function that night. In the morning, to their great amazement, the friars found a multitude of footprints in the snow along the route of the procession. The animals of the forest had replaced the friars in the practice of the procession. This miraculous fact led to the decision to build a structure that would allow the procession to take place in any weather situation.

The corridor, which was called "of the Stigmata", was located under a roof supported on one side by a wall and on the other by columns, the latter open to the outside. Today this part is also closed by a glass window, a work carried out only in 1926.

Since its construction, the wall that flanked the Corridor of the Stigmata was decorated by anonymous painters who illustrated the life of Saint Francis, paintings certainly of a popular nature, of no particular artistic value. Only ninety years after its construction (1670/71) the decorations of the corridor were entrusted to the hands of a worthy artist: Emanuele da Como, a minor Franciscan friar. He painted 21 large squares on the wall (about three meters wide), in each of these he depicted various historical and legendary episodes from the life of the Saint, for a total of 73 scenes.

As already mentioned, the side of the corridor opposite the decorated wall was open and over the years the atmospheric agents did not spare the paintings which over the years underwent some restoration work, but all quite approximate.

In 1840, the painter Luigi Ademolli, aided by his son Giovanni, was entrusted with the task of more substantially restoring the frescoes. It was a rather heavy intervention which significantly transformed Emanuele da Como's paintings. Even these paintings deteriorated rapidly over the course of a few decades because they were always exposed to humidity, ice and temperature changes.

In the 1930s, after the wall opposite the decorations had been closed by glass, it was decided to repaint it, not a restoration, but new paints.

The task was entrusted to the painter Baccio Maria Bacci who used the usual large panels, which however he did not divide into various scenes, but rather one episode for each panel.

Baccio Maria Bacci did not repaint the last three panels which, being in a more sheltered position, had been spared from atmospheric agents. The last one, the "Death of Saint Francis", can still be attributed to Emanuele da Como, as it has only undergone slight restorations over time, the penultimate and the third to last can undoubtedly be attributed to Luigi Ademolli because of the pictorial style of the The artist from Como has practically nothing left.

Baccio Maria Bacci also created the 22nd painting using the part of the wall above the access door to the corridor of the Stigmata della Verna. Here he painted a Nativity scene, an invention of Saint Francis. It is from this decoration that the series of images that tell us about the life of the Saint of Assisi begins.

taken from ilbelcasentino.it/san-francesco-seq.php

Translated by Google •

Matteo Pascali

August 18, 2024

The frescoes retrace the life of St. Francis, very interesting!

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andyrigh

March 22, 2025

a book to walk

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Elevation 960 m

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Sunday 21 September

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Max wind speed: 1.0 km/h

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Location: Chiusi Della Verna, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Corridor of the Stigmata, Sanctuary of La Verna

1. Sanctuary of La Verna – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chiusi della Verna

2. Sanctuary of La Verna – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chiusi della Verna

3. Cave of Saint Francis' Bed – Sasso Spicco loop from Chiusi della Verna

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