REVIEW

Il Santuario della Verna

A cluster of medieval stone buildings where guests ranging from devout Catholics to transcendental spiritualists are invited, though not required, to attend religious services.

By Reid Bramblett, Tuesday, Jun 1, 2010, 6:11 PM

Il Santuario della Verna

• Chiusu della Verna, Italy 
  011-39/0575-5341
  
• Il Santuario della Verna website

About this Hotel

Price From $66

Perched atop a forbidding cliff in the Casentino hills between Florence and Arezzo, Il Santuario della Verna remains a place out of time, a cluster of medieval stone buildings often shrouded in morning mist, traced by silent processions of white-robed monks on their way to mass. Visitors ranging from devout Catholics to transcendental spiritualists stay in the Foresteria, where the 72 austere rooms—Formica floors, modular furniture, crucifixes on the walls—line the arcaded cloisters. All meals are included with your stay, and dinnertime seating arrangements put guests together randomly so they're forced to make conversation—which is part of the point.

Credit Cards Accepted AmEx, MC, Visa.

Details Rates are from $66 per person, including all meals.