Religion in Italy

Discover 51 places to experience unusual religion in Italy.

View of the front of the abbey.

Vallombrosa, Italy

Vallombrosa Abbey

A 14th-century abbey founded by a forest-loving order of monks now sits in the center of a pristine nature preserve.

The interior of the Basilica of Sant'Anastasia.

Sant'Anastasia Basilica

A gorgeous example of 13th-century Gothic architecture.

Cappella Suardi

Trescore Balneario, Italy

Cappella Suardi

Jesus turns into vines inside this chapel.

The intetior

Church of San Bernardino

The walls of this tiny Italian church are entirely covered with frescoes.

Wheel of the Exposed

An unremarkable wooden wheel built into the side of one of Rome's oldest hospitals was part of a policy to reduce infant exposure.

The hermit's house seen from inside the cave with the well on the lower left

Eremo di San Leonardo (San Leonardo Hermitage)

This small hermitage is located along an ancient route that connected the Tiber and Rieti valleys.

The hermitage with the enormous holm oak tree

Romitorio di San Michele Arcangelo

This small hermitage on Mount Scalambra was built near what some believe is the miraculous imprint of Saint Benedict's hand.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull

Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy

St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull

The skull of this patron saint is kept in a shrine located in his hometown.

The hermitage surrounded by the beech forest.

Eremo di San Girolamo (Hermitage of Saint Jerome)

The 16th-century son of Sienese nobility carved this hermitage out of volcanic rock.

Detail of the 16th-century Compianto.

Eremo di Saint Venantius (Hermitage of Saint Venantius)

A holy stone inside this spectacular hermitage is said to have healing properties.

The Church of Saint Sylvester on Mount Soratte.

Hermitage of Saint Sylvester

This hermitage celebrates the legend of Emperor Constantine's healing from leprosy.

The altar inside the Church of San Domenico Maggiore.

Tomb of the First Bishop of New York

Richard Luke Concanen never set foot on American soil.

'Saint Bartholomew Flayed'

'Saint Bartholomew Flayed'

This grisly effigy displays an early Christian martyr who was skinned alive and beheaded.

The altar inside the hermitage.

Caramanico Terme, Italy

Eremo di San Giovanni all'Orfento (Hermitage of Saint John all'Orfento)

You can only access this hermitage by crawling under a ledge suspended above an overhang.

Santuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie

Santuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie (Sanctuary of Our Vergine Maria of Grace)

In this medieval church, a centuries-old stuffed crocodile hangs from the ceiling.

Convento Praglia, Italy

Praglia Abbey

In this nearly 1,000-year-old monastery, monks painstakingly restore old books.