Sabina's hermitages
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The hermitage of San Cataldo
The hermitage of St Cataldo is hollowed out of a huge granite rock and can be dated back to the 10th century. It was built by Benedectine monks who used it as a refuge and place of hermitage. It is dedicated to San Cataldo, Bishop of Rochau.The small chapel houses the most ancient Byzantine-style fascinating frescoes of the Sabina such as the milennary painting of the Redeemer and other beautiful 15th century paintings depicting the Madonna con Bambino (Virgin Mary with Child) and Bishop Saints. Saint Francis stayed in the hermitage between 1217 and 1223 while evangelising the neighbouring communities.
The hermitage of San Cataldo is a well preserved gem both externally and internally. The fresco of The Redeemer that dates back to the 9th and 10th century Jesus is represented sitting in the act of blessing surrounded by the apostles and beneath there are six saints; in the fresco there are clear references to St. Francis of Assisi, the most conspicuous is the greek TAU symbol. In the vault note the baroque-style Ousting of Adam and Eve from Paradise, from a later era.
The hermitage of San Cataldo
How to get here
Cottanello, Strada Provinciale 45/f
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The cave of St Michael is a small rupestrian sanctuary carved in a rock surrounded by the woods of Mount Tancia. Apparently it was a place of worship to the sabine goddess of water and forest, Vacuna. This was testified by a female figure carved from a stalactite which, unfortunately, has been missing for 25 years. In the following centuries a monastery was built round the cave. The path reaching the cave slightly winds upwards and through the woods that get thicker as you proceed leading to a small deck located under a steep rocky cliff.
Nestled in the greenery on either side of the deck there are remains of the homes where the friars of St Michele's hermitage live and from here you can get to a small terrace in front of the cave by going up a steep staircase carved in the mountain. The altar inside the cave - dominated by the tabernacle - is made of two columns and coated by two layers of frescoes: the bust of Christ surrounded by the apocalyptic symbols of the four evangelists and at the back of the church bezel above the altar is the image of the Madonna and Child; at the top of the tabernacle there is an Agnus Dei fresco with images of the prophets bowing solemnly on either side. On the walls there are frescoes representing the Virgin Mary with the Cherub and San Michele with his golden armour. On the walls note the various concretions which have generated stalactite and stalagmite formations.
The hermitage of San Michele
How to get here
Monte San Giovanni, Str. Prov. Tancia
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The San Leonardo Hermitage in Roccantica is not as challenging to visit as many may think. However it is little more difficult to piece together the birth and history of this hermitage. It could be from the same era as the nearby San Michele hermitage of Mount Tancia so a possibly quite some time prior to the year 1000.
We must remember that San Leonardo lived in the sixth century A.D. and that we are therefore talking about a very ancient cult. Although San Leonardo was a hermit the location of this hermitage used to be very busy in the Middle Ages: the natural corridor of the Tiber Valley that leads to the Rieti valley through the Tancia mountain pass. The path through the woods will take visitors to the entrance arch and a few steps. The remains of the wall border the area of the small hermitage. Once visitors walk up the steps they will face the hermit dwelling: two tiny rooms and an oven, perhaps some space for a vegetable garden. Note the cave beside the small dwelling: a karst cave that in the millennia prior to the arrival of the first hermits who knows what kind of creatures may have made their home there
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The hermitage of San Leonardo
How to get here
Roccantica
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