Stage 25.A: Rieti - Fonte Colombo - Greccio

For a successful journey, it is recommended to get in the way to the Sanctuary of Fonte Colombo and the Franciscan Sanctuary in Greccio early in the morning.

We start from the Cathedral in the medieval historic centre of Rieti, where the route begins, then proceed on a flat asphalt road and climb up on a white dirt road till the Sanctuary of Fontecolombo.

In 1223, San Francesco, after a forty-day fasting, dictated here the definitive Rule to Frate Leo. The Sanctuary also hosts the cell where, in 1225, the Saint underwent an eye cauterization miraculously without any pain. Unmissable is the Speco di San Francesco, called the Franciscan Sinai, the cave where he had the vision of Christ approving the Rule.

The Madonna’s (or Maddalena’s) Chapel is the only building   already existing at the time of San Francesco. Its walls are decorated with frescoes from the twentieth century and the symbol of the Tau, probably painted by the Saint. Let us save our energy for a climb to Colle Sant'Elia, the only difficult stretch in the route.

Then we continue in the shade of big oak trees along slight ups and downs among the hills towards Contigliano. The village hosts buildings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, churches, gates and well-preserved city walls.

From Contigliano, we reach Piano, and then follow the slightly uphill Onnina Path, which owes its name to the nearby Spring. Along the route, it is possible to admire the recently renovated Abbey of San Pastore.

Leaving the valley behind, we head to the Franciscan Sanctuary of Greccio, nestled on a rocky mountain ridge, the world-renowned place of worship where the Poor Man of Assisi staged the first re-enactment of the Nativity of Bethlehem on the Christmas Night of 1223. The Grotto at the entrance to the Convent was transformed in 1228 into the Chapel of the Nativity and dedicated to Santa Lucia. Above the altar, a fresco from 1400 depicts the Nativity of Bethlehem and the Nativity Scene of Greccio. From the Chapel, we access the oldest part of the Convent, which includes the refectory, San Francesco’s cell and the Oratory of San Bonaventura. The Church of San Francesco preserves the white statue of the Immaculate Conception and a rich collection of nativity scenes from all over the world.