Following the scenic State Road SS 71 toward Passo Mandrioli that leads to the Casentino, the Camaldolian Monastery can be reached. Spirituality and culture have ever been present in the convent complex formed by monastery, church and guest-rooms. It was established in the eleventh century by St Romualdo in a scenic ravine among the mountains, rising in the heart of the Casentino Forests. This is the most attractive forested site in central Italy that the white-dressed monks took care of and protected according to their Rule. In the monastery’s pharmacy, spirits and essences are still produced using alembics.
Some kilometres above, beside the mountain pass, the Eremo (hermitage) is crowned by firs. The church is decorated by a triumph of seventeenth century stuccoes. Twenty small houses, or cells, are separated by paved alleys and enclosed by a large ring of walls. Each cell is made up by a room, a wood-store, a portico and a vegetable garden where a hermit lives in solitude. This peaceful island can be admired from a distance only. Visits are allowed only to the cell where St Romualdo lived which is similar to the others.