Hermitages of the Majella
Medieval hermitages carved into the rock faces of the Majella, such as San Bartolomeo in Legio, reached by a path that ends on a stairway cut into the rock.
The story
Pietro da Morrone lived in these hermitages, a hermit monk who in 1294, at about eighty, was elected pope with the name Celestine V. After a few months he renounced the papacy, a gesture that Dante, according to many scholars, called «the great refusal». For centuries the Majella was the «sacred mountain», inhabited by hermits, and its silence has remained almost intact.
Why go
A short, spectacular walk to a church suspended in the rock above a gorge.
In the itineraries
Get directions ↗OpenStreetMap ↗
Saved. You'll find everything in My trip, where you can split it into days and see it on the map.
Saved on this device: you can open it even without a connection. All your saved pages are in Offline guides.
Weather forecast
The forecast for the next 7 days at this spot: sky, temperatures, rain and wind.
Forecast by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), from the models of national weather services. Your browser downloads it directly from Open-Meteo, and only when you ask. In the mountains and at sea the weather changes quickly: check the official forecast as well before you set off.
Getting there
- By train. The nearest station is Scafa-San Valentino-Caramanico Terme station, 10.1 km away. Alternatively: Piano d'Orta Bolognano station, 10.8 km away. From the station you need a bus, a taxi or a car.
- By air. The nearest airport is Pescara Airport (PSR), about 30 km away; with more flights, Rome-Ciampino Airport (CIA) is about 127 km away.
Stations, ports, airports and car parks from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); distances as the crow flies. Timetables and connections change: check them before you travel.
Climate month by month
The most pleasant months for weather are from May to June and from September to October, with average highs between 18 and 29 °C. From July to August it is hot: average highs exceed 30 °C. The wettest month is November (about 101 mm), the driest July.
| Month | Temperature | High / low | Rain mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | from 1 to 7 °C | 7° 1° | 72 |
| Feb | from 2 to 10 °C | 10° 2° | 57 |
| Mar | from 3 to 12 °C | 12° 3° | 60 |
| Apr | from 6 to 16 °C | 16° 6° | 41 |
| May | from 10 to 20 °C | 20° 10° | 52 |
| Jun | from 15 to 27 °C | 27° 15° | 36 |
| Jul | from 19 to 32 °C | 32° 19° | 27 |
| Aug | from 18 to 31 °C | 31° 18° | 33 |
| Sep | from 14 to 25 °C | 25° 14° | 56 |
| Oct | from 10 to 20 °C | 20° 10° | 70 |
| Nov | from 6 to 14 °C | 14° 6° | 101 |
| Dec | from 3 to 10 °C | 10° 3° | 55 |
Averages for 2015–2024, estimated for an altitude of 692 m. Air: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), corrected for the altitude of the place; rain: average monthly total. These are indicative values: the weather on any given day can be very different, so always check the forecast before you go.
On foot and on the water, nearby
Nearby
- San Clemente a CasauriaHistory and art · 14 km as the crow flies
- Fara San MartinoNature · 17 km as the crow flies
- SulmonaTown · 18 km as the crow flies
- ★ Warrior of CapestranoHistory and art · 21 km as the crow flies
- ★ Navelli and saffronTown · 26 km as the crow flies
- LancianoTown · 29 km as the crow flies