Friday, July 29th
This is the little bit of history they wrote down for us. I'm just going to copy it down for you because I didn't remember this when they were telling us on the bus ride there. :)
Enjoy.
La Verna is an isolated mountain hallowed by association with St. Francis of Assisi. It is situated in the centre of the Tuscan Appenines, and rises about 4000 feet above the valley of the Casentino Its name (Latin, Alverna) is said to come from the Italian verb vernare, cold or freeze.
On My 8, 1213 Count Orlando of Chiusi gave La Verna to Francis of Assisi (1181- October 3, 1226) so he could use it as a retreat especially favourable for contemplation. In 1218 he built Francis the chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli. In August 1224, Francis withdrew to La Verna to keep a 40 days fast and while praying on the mountain-side he received the stigmata. Thus La Verna became sacred ground. Pope Alexander IV took it under his protection. In the late 1260s the Chapel of the Stigmata was erected, near the spot where the miracle took place.
The sanctuary of the Verna was built between 1213 and 1459.
For more info on Saint Francis, patron saint of Italy and Assisi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi
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