La Verna Sanctuary – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chitignano

Hiking trails & Routes

La Verna Sanctuary – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chitignano

Hard

hikers

La Verna Sanctuary – Fra' Lupo Rock loop from Chitignano

06:54

21.0km

840m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly walkable paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

8.14 km

La Verna Sanctuary

Highlight • Religious Site

The place where the sanctuary is located today was donated to Saint Francis by Count Orlando Cattani of Chiusi in 1213. First a hermitage was founded which became a recurring destination for Francis and his disciples for periods of meditation and prayer. Francis stayed here for the last time in 1224. It was precisely on the occasion of that last visit that the Saint received the stigmata. The complex includes the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli built by Francis himself, the corridor and the Chapel of the Sacred Stigmata and the Basilica dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta where you can admire the Annunciation by the sculptor Andrea della Robbia. The sanctuary is surrounded by the monumental forest of La Verna, a forest of fir and beech trees cared for over the centuries by the Franciscan friars.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

8.18 km

Cross near La Verna

Highlight • Monument

8.91 km

Masso di Frate Lupo

Highlight • Natural Monument

Sasso di Frate Lupo, so called in honor of the meeting between Saint Francis and the brigand Lupo, who converted to Christianity
══════════════════
173rd excursion and 2nd time in Chiusi della Verna | double ring to the Sanctuary of La Verna and Monte Penna
══════════════════
👇 here is the video in 4K 👇

Translated by Google •

Tip by

9.03 km

Fra' Lupo Rock

Highlight • Natural Monument

On the path that leads from the La Verna monastery to Monte Penna, there is a huge boulder that towers over the abyss. It is the Sasso di Frate Lupo, marked by a sign attached to the boulder.
The rock is so called because Saint Francis met the wild robber Lupo here and converted him to the Christian faith. From that moment on, the robber's name was Fra' Lupo, according to Brother Agnello. The boulder itself is nothing special. However, the story of Lupo's transformation makes it a place of particular historical and religious interest.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

9.48 km

Mount Penna

Highlight • Summit

From the monastery of La Verna, the hiking trail follows a gradual climb, past the monumental fir, the highest silver fir in Italy, the Sasso di Fra Lupo, and finally reaches the highest point, Monte Penna (1283 m). An ancient pagan cult of the mountain god Pen is the reason for the name Monte Penna. From the rock balcony the view sweeps over the Upper Arno Valley and an endless panorama of forests, which are now protected by the Foreste Casentinesi National Park.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

11.2 km

Cave of Saint Francis' Bed

Highlight • Cave

There are several chapels along the 78 meter long corridor from the basilica to the Chapel of the Stigmata, which is called Corridoio delle stimmate (“Corridor of the Stigmata”). The corridor was built so that the daily procession to the Chapel of the Stigmata could be carried out in any weather.
In the middle of the aisle is the so-called “Bed of St. Francis”, a damp and cold grotto (Letto di S. Francesco). St. Francis rested on a smooth surface covered by an iron grille.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

11.2 km

Sasso Spicco

Highlight • Natural Monument

The so-called "Sasso Spicco" (Outstanding Rock) is one of the places where St. Francis liked to pray during his visits to La Verna.
The legends say that God revealed to Francis that this strange fissure arose at the hour when Jesus Christ died on Golgotha, as the Evangelist reports, and the rocks split. (Matt 27:14).

Translated by Google •

Tip by

11.4 km