Holy Land of Abruzzo

..set off with the prayer of the heart and you will find Him.. 

Seeing the profile of the peaks, their force and their Junoesque presence,

as wife and husband -Majella and Gran Sasso- who give birth to cultivated and uncultivated lands;

while the garbino competes with my wheezing for the climb to the hermitage ... "

We'll leave in the morning from Pescara in the car to get to Serramonacesca. Signposted San Liberatore, you will come to the road to meet a junction for Brecciarola hermitage of Sant 'Onofrio (about 3 km from the village) and there we will leave the car along the carrareccia Piana Pù. Breathing deeply, while doing the climb that leads up to the hermitage of Sant 'Onofrio, we will use relaxation techniques and breathing, that will help us to break down the physical difficulties that have also tried the hermits. The tale "narrated and performed" of the stories and of the history of the place, interspersed with moments of prayer of the heart, with the technique of Hesychasm (hesychia = meditation). Arrived to the hermitage we will stop to learn about the history of rock 'lithotherapy "and "incubatio " two ascetic forms of folk tradition. In the afternoon we will have to go down, and you will see how difficult it is... !!

Tour program

08:00 Leave from Pescara (train station square - bus terminal close to the ticket office)       

 09:30 Serramonacesca (Pe) - Località piana pù -  park the car and walk on the carrareccia; climb breathing deeply. I reccomend hat,  suitable shoes (trekking, walking), drink water, paper tissue.

10:30  Serramonacesca (Pe) Visit of Sant’Onofrio hermitage a 725 mt. A  sheep track and ancient stazzo (sheep shelter) where you will be able to taste the sense of solitude using praying/meditation tecniques.

12:00 Light lunch (there are no toilets in the hermitages) 

14:00 After getting back the cars we will go to visit San Liberatore a Majella  (the church is a Badìa built in 1000 that gave impetus to monasticism in Abruzzo)  and the surrounding area with the rock tombs of Paleolithic age; there will try to keep the due respect that you have in one place of worship.

16:30 Back to Pescara