3-084-559 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Saint Francis’ Grotto on Monte Verna, 1801. Additional Info: A holy place of Franciscan piety. Legend has it that Francis of Assisi received the stigmata of Christ in this cave - his hermitage - in 1224, after fasting for forty days. Hackert, who lived in Italy from 1768 until his death, shows not only the wild and Romantic beauty of the location in the province of Arezzo with luxuriant nature and awe-inspiring rock formations, but also its religious significance. Lost in prayer, two Franciscan monks are shown kneeling before a simple wooden cross in this important place of pilgrimage. Set against the massively soaring unhewn stone expanses, the figures look small and lost.