S. Silvestro di Collepino
A Hermitage on Mount Subasio

Mention hermitage and Monte Subasio in the same breath, and images of St. Francis's now famous retreat at Eremo delle Carceri should spring to mind; yet the great saint was not the first to find "the desert" on this big barren mountain. A church was built here in 1025, nearly two centuries before him: maybe not what we see today, but part of it at least; nor was it poor and unimportant, since at one point Spello's church of S. Claudio was one of its dependencies.

Now I shouldn't be letting my predilection for the apses of churches get in the way of showing you the front of them! This is a very simple chapel, though:

If you are observant, you will have noticed that this little church has a single storey in the front and two in the back. Since it is built on a fair slope, that's to be expected. What might not be expected is