Santa Maria in Belverde
From Bagno Vignoni one goes in the direction of Chianciano and from there on to Sarteano, and then on the road to Monte Cetona. After a few kilometres one sees on the left the signposting for the San Francesco convent and the retreat of Santa Maria in Belverde, it immersed in a stunning natural setting. Cypress trees and caverns, Romanesque features and columns, a certain mystical beauty all around. Tradition has it that San Francesco would pray in the cavern behind the church: this why in 1367 a member of the nobility from Orvieto built the church and the retreat. The real jewel of this abode is the church, it split on two levels and divided in 3 oratories. Inside there are precious frecoes going back to the second half of the 14th century and attributed to Cola Petruccioli – works of the Crocifissione and the Stimmate of San Francesco, l'Annunciazione, la Madonna ed evangelisti. On the upper level of the church there are frescoes of Petruccioli - Storie di Maria Maddalena e della vita della Vergine. To an asssitant of Petrucciloi the Storie della Passione di Cristo has been attributed. To see from close-up these wonderful works one needs to ask the key from the residents of the Mondo X Community in the residence nearby. All one needs to do is knock and one is accompanied into a mystical dimension in a far off world of the sublime.
Bagno Vignoni – Eremo Santa Maria in Belverde 37.7 kilometres
