The Hermitage of San Bartolomeo in Legio, like the other hermitages on the Majella mountain range, is set on a rocky spur (of about 50m), a position which has protected it from degradation over time. It is situated in Vallone di Santo Spirito about 700m above sea level in the municipality of Roccamorice (PE). It was built after 1250 by the hermit Pietro Angelerio, later Pope Celestine V, on the ruins of an earlier construction. The hermitage is connected, by function, to the Hermitage of Santo Spirito a Majella as is the Grancia di San Giorgio. Four staircases lead to the church and the two small rooms used by the hermits: the staircase facing North has 30 irregular steps, hewn directly out of the rock; that facing South is longer and more irregular, also hewn from the rock, while of the two at the centre of the balcony, one functions as the Holy Stairs (Scala Santa). A place dense with spirituality on the Majella massif, a hanging garden overlooking the sea.
Film Commission d'Abruzzo
Centro Regionale Beni Culturali - Sulmona
Phone: + 39 0864 576303
Email: crbc@regione.abruzzo.it
