Spirituality and Meditation

The striking hill town of Loreto lies just inland from the Adriatic Sea and is one of the world's most important shrines to the cult of the Virgin Mary: the Basilica houses the Holy House of the Virgin Mary of Nazareth where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary was born, lived and received the announcement of Jesus's miraculous birth.

www.santuarioloreto.va/en.html

The Shrine dedicated to S. Nicola of  Tolentino is one of the most visited shrines across Italy. S. Nicola of  Tolentino  (1245-1305) was an Augustinian monk, miracle worker and a great preacher.

www.sannicoladatolentino.org

The Abbey Santa Maria di Chiaravalle in Fiastra is one of Italy's  most remarkable and best preserved monuments  of Cistercian architecture; it is the highest evidence of the presence of the Cistercians in the Marche Region.  

www.abbadiafiastra.net/en/

This Camaldolese monastic retreat on the eastern flanks of Monte Catria stands in one of the most breathtaking settings imaginable, surrounded by large beech trees. It retains its medieval monastic form; its beauty is derived as much from the intentional poverty of the architecture as the magnificence of its proportions and the extraordinary size of the entire complex.

The hermitage of Fonte Avellana

The spread of monasticism in the Marche region has deeply marked the territory: there are many monasteries and hermitages  where pilgrims still today can pray and spend time in silence.

The Marche region is full of traces  of San Francesco d'Assisi, both beacuse it is close to Umbria and also because, it is the land that, since the beginning, has welcomed him.

The first historically documented journey of S. Francesco in the Marche region dates back to 1208 and concerns, in particular, the so-called March of Ancona; it was followed by many other journeys until 1219, as a proof of the deep bond between the Saint and our region. In 1282 the province of the March had 85 Franciscan monasteries with 1,500 monks; every monastery was equipped with a library and the confraternity ran hospitals and charitable institutions. Moreover, the presence of the friars involved the commission of numerous works of art: crucifixes, paintings on canvas, altarpieces, sculptures. The Franciscanism significantly marking the cultural and religious history of the region.

Some areas and valleys of the Marche region has been marked by many saints such as San Giacomo della Marca, San Nicola da Tolentino and Santa Maria Goretti. Here are the places and museums that house the heritage of these saints and their spiritual depth.