Carceri Hermitage

The Eremo delle Carceri is a hermitage complex located 791 metres above sea level in a steep forest gorge upon Monte Subasio, in Umbria, in central Italy, four kilometers above Assisi.

The name Carceri derives from the Latin carceres, meaning "isolated places" or "prisons". The steps and bows of the gorge arch over a quatrefoil-shaped hole in the smooth pink stone, a natural grotto.

In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi would often come to this place to pray and contemplate, as did other hermits before him. When he first came in 1205, the only building here was a tiny 12th-century oratory.