Christian refugees moved to the Maiella and Gran Sasso mountains and lived in the caves and found in this area a good place to pray and be closer to God and live as hermits.
Christian pilgrims have visited these caves for centuries and consider them almost sacred among other reason, because of their location in remote places, hidden by nature.

SANTO SPIRITO IN MOUNT MAIELLA (picture1)

This is a monastery built inside a cave (picture 2) in mount Maiella with the front of the building built in stone (pic.3), projecting out of the entrance. Inside, you can see an ancient altar, restored in 1246 by brother Pietro (pic. 4), dedicated to the Holy Spirit.
Brother Pietro lived here from 1276 until 1293. It was 1294 when he was chosen to be the Pope.
He became Pope Celestino V but he only held this title for a short time (four months).
He refused to continue to be the Pope because he wished to return to his life as a hermit in mount Maiella.
Today the monastery of Santo Spirito is very simple.
It’s made up of a sacristy, a monastic complex with the monks cells, a chapter halls, a library, a dining room and a winter chapel.

SAN BARTOLOMEO IN LEGIO

Brother Pietro lived here with his brethren from 1274 to 1276. This small church is entirely inside a cave and it is very old (pic. 5).
If you look to your left, you can see a niche on the wall with water dripping out. This water is believed to be miraculous.
It was used by the first hermits in the area, probably before the 11th Century. Below it, there is another cave (pic.12) presumably inhabited by prehistoric people (Upper Palaeolithic phase )
Some utensils were found here and now you can see them at Museum of the Abruzzo’s People in Pescara.

The Stone huts

The stone huts are dry-stone buildings built by peasants to be used as shelters (pic.10 -11).
The most interesting huts are those near the village of Roccamorice and in Giumentina Valley where you can found the biggest huts in all of the Maiella area.