Surrounded by the lush nature of the Alta Valtiberina (Upper Valtiberina), the village of Pieve Santo Stefano, famously known as the Città del Diario (City of the Diary), guards among its woods and hills a pearl between the sacred and nature, the ancient hermitage of Cerbaiolo. A place full of solitary mysticism, where among the lush forests the sacred building stands perched.
The church and monastery were erected in 706 A.D. at the behest of Tedaldo, a Lombard nobleman, for his daughter who converted to Christianity and that was then given as a gift to Benedictine monks. It was later given to St. Francis and inhabited by the Franciscan Friars Minor from 1216 to 1783. In more recent history, the inaccessible hermitage was the scene of bitter clashes between German troops and partisans during World War II.
After a major restoration and several transfers, the hermitage of Cerbaiolo opened again to worshippers in search of peace and spirituality.
The hermitage, moreover, is on the east route passing through Pieve Santo Stefano of the La Verna-Anghiari section of the Via di Francesco in Tuscany, a path that then leads to Assisi. The first stage starts at La Verna, another very important place linked to the figure of St. Francis, and ends at the sacred hermitage perched.
