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[Regions of Italy] 
[Back to Latium & Rome]
 Poggio Bustone |
The Sacred Valley is barely an hour from Rome, but it is as far away as the 13th century, when Francis of Assisi came here to fast, pray and converse with Brother Wind. Hidden amongst these majestic mountains is Fonte Colombo, one of four ancient hermitages inhabited by a handful of brownrobed friars. We drove to the valley one hot July morning, leaving Rome via the Salaria, oldest of the imperial highways, now a two-lane country road used mainly by flocks of lean cyclists with soft drink logos splashed across their t-shirts. We followed them back and forth over the Tiber River, past fields where stone houses seemed to float on a sea of sunflowers, and past silvery olive groves where farmers stood beneath large white umbrellas selling peaches and figs. One makeshift wooden table bore a sign written in dripping black paint. "Truffles," it said. "Real cheap." |
Fonte Colombo looked like a pearl-grey turtle dove perched on a treetop nest. Almost as we stepped out of our car, Brother Antonio came bustling forward to greet us, wearing a roomy brown robe and dusty leather sandals. Someone whispered that he looked like a young, cheerful Mussolini. “Santuario?” he asked, shooing us towards a rocky path that led back down the hillside we had just climbed. Instantly we were in the woods, tiptoeing down handlaid steps and encountering only a tiny bald monk who was patiently sweeping leaves off the pebbles. He never raised his eyes.
| Fra Antonio was eager to tell us about Fonte Colombo, which means Dove Spring. “St. Francis named it for a place where the birds stopped to drink. That was in 1217, when he first came to worship...there.” He pointed to a rustic stone chapel topped by a three-foot tower containing what could have been a large dinner bell. “La Maddalena,” he whispered proudly. One by one, we stepped through the narrow door into a room that barely held five people. Before us was the cross-shaped altar where St. Francis celebrated Mass with his closest disciple, Brother Leo. To our left was a minuscule window with a handpainted red T in the middle. "That's the Tau," said our guide. "St. Francis had it painted on all his sanctuaries." |  Fonte Colombo |
As he led us down the hill to the spring, the friar told us Francis had been born in 1182, on the other side of this mountain chain, in Assisi. His father was a wealthy merchant who expected his son to follow in his footsteps. But Francis repudiated his father and the unbelievable extravagance of the nobility. He began begging in the streets of Assisi. He slept on doorsteps. “Often,” the friar told us, “Francis retreated for days or weeks to pray and fast in places like this.”
“This” was a cramped stone grotto, where a split in the rock allowed us to view the same peaceful valley St. Francis had loved. At the back of the cave was a simple cross made of two tree limbs. Our friar asked each of us to slip past it, through an impossibly narrow opening and into a pitchblack space no more than two feet square. I tried to imagine how anyone could fit in here for minutes, let alone days or weeks. I wondered aloud if the Franciscans were still as austere as their founder. Fra Antonio grinned. “Rules change,” he shrugged. “It's the spirit that counts.”
 Greccio |
Our seemingly tireless guide led us back up the hill to see the hostelry, above the cells of the hermitage's seven monks. A boisterous group of teenagers was there that weekend, so he knocked on the door before entering. Receiving no answer, he peeked in, gasped, and sprang away from the door. “Oh!” he cried. “Girls!” Then he rushed us back outside, where a crowd was milling in front of the church. We peeked inside the deserted nave. The roughhewn pews were buried beneath flowers. Soft light filtered through the alabaster windows. Our hearts and souls began to drift back to seven centuries before.... |
Fra Antonio shrugged. “I've seen hundreds of brides,” he said. “They don't really interest me any more... unless, of course, they're pretty... and it's time to see if this one is!” With that, he left us, after shaking our hands and murmuring, “The Lord give thee peace.”
Fonte Colombo and the other Sacred Valley hermitages are all located within 15 miles of Rieti, an industrial center about 60 miles east of Rome. Although the ACOTRAL bus line links the two cities, there is no public transportation to the convents, so we suggest you rent a car in Rome. The quickest route is the Salaria (Autostrada 4). Near Rieti, you will see plenty of bright yellow signs marked “Santuario.” The hermitages are open year round, seven days a week. During the week they are virtually deserted; on weekends, you're liable to run into weddings. Fonte Colombo (tel. 011-39-746-71125) closes from 12:30 to 3. The best times of year are spring and fall; it will be cold in the winter, but you can combine the trip with skiing at Terminillo, only 15 miles east of Rieti. Overnight visitors are welcome at Fonte Colombo, in single, double, or dorm-type rooms. Guests are asked to bring their own sheets and towels. Kitchen facilities are provided. Make arrangements well in advance, by phone or by writing Fonte Colombo, 02100 Rieti, Italy. If you prefer a hotel, consider Rieti's Grand Hotel Quattro Stagioni, which offers historical rooms and modern luxury at a great price.
For more reading on this subject, we recommend On the Road with Francis of Assisi, by Linda Bird Franke. Click here for information.
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