Per plura sacra loca: hermits and hermitages in Italy

From the late tenth century there was a revival of interest across Europe in the reforming ideal of hermit life epitomised by the Desert Fathers of Egypt. The more perfect way of early Christians such as Paul, the first hermit, or Anthony, whose lives seemed closest to the model of the Scriptures, held powerful appeal. In Italy innumerable ad hoc settlements of men and (less often) women dedicated to withdrawal (anachoresis), asceticism and contemplation set out to recreate the life of the Egyptian Thebaid. What drove them was a desire for salvation through rejection of the world and a penitential life. As Peter Damian, a contemporary enthusiast, famously remarked, ‘it seemed as if the whole world would be turned into a hermitage’.

Some of these hermits were true solitaries, living alone in caves or woods for long periods, an ascetic tradition which continued throughout the Middle Ages and was indeed to acquire new life with the urban recluses of late-medieval cities. Many more gathered in groups under the guidance of a charismatic leader or leaders. Men such as Romuald (†1027), founder of a hermitage at Camaldoli in the Appennines (c. 1023–6), moved frequently, starting new communities on an experimental basis and then moving on, but always faithful to the idea of the hermit life. In the next generation, Giovanni Gualberto (†1073) stayed at Camaldoli for a while, but then went on to found a community at Vallombrosa (c. 1038), high in the wooded hills east of Florence.