The Hermitage of Greccio Sanctuary () is one of the four shrines erected by

Saint Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he ...

in the

Sacred Valley The Sacred Valley of the Incas (; ), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it was referred to as the "Vall ...

, along with the Sanctuary of Fonte Colombo, the Sanctuary of the Forest, and the convent of Poggio Bustone. It is located in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

town of Greccio, about from the city of

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

, seat of the homonym province, is recessed at an altitude of above sea level, in the rocks of the mountains in the immediate vicinity of the medieval village of Greccio with views of the wide

Rieti Valley The Rieti Valley or Rieti Plain ( or ''Conca Reatina'') is a small plain in central Italy, where lies the city of Rieti, Lazio. It is also known as Sacred Valley and Holy Valley () since saint Francis of Assisi lived here for many years and erec ...

. Francis presented the first living

Nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...

in a nearby cave in December 1223.

Legend

The

legendarium affirms that he chose this place for devotions. A story within the legendarium tells of a child to whom Francis threw a firebrand, flying like an arrow, and it landed on the rock wall of a hill, the Velita, owned by a lord of Greccio.

Saint Francis's creation of the Nativity scene, 1223

In 1223, Francis here observed and oversaw a retelling, with live people, of the story the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve. Since then, Greccio and its sanctuary is the country of the first nativity scene in the world. Later it was twinned with Bethlehem.

Sanctuary and chapel

The shrine is a Latin cross, characterized by a side wall and an apse hexagonal. The

mullioned A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

windows are Gothic style. Inside there are frescoes modern and original chapel of the saint carved in the rock. The church is located after crossing the square. It joins the refectory. The church has a Latin cross with a bell tower. Under the medieval church is the crypt of St. Francis with a lunette showing the 'Preparation of the Nativity. The painting dates from the 13th century.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Authority control Churches in the province of Rieti Franciscan churches in Italy Franciscan convents Romanesque architecture in Lazio Roman Catholic shrines 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Francis of Assisi