A bit of history

At the end of the 5th Century AD, Saint Isaac of Antiochia chose Monteluco as the place where to re-establish, with his followers, the hermit lifestyle that he had had to abandon in Syria due to persecution.

Immersed in the sacred wood of Monteluco, the Hermitage through the centuries became a centre of spiritual and ascetic life; in 1547 Bishop Fabio Vigili established the 'Congregation of the Hermit Friars of Monteluco', and the Hermitage of Santa Maria delle Grazie soon become their spiritual home.

On the 18th SEPTEMBER 1556, Michelangelo, by that time in his 80's, aware if the immenent invasion of Rome by Spanish troops led by the Duke of Alba, hid "in the mountains of Spoleto" not only because of his close relationship with the then Bishop Alessandro Farnese, but also for the great spiritual prestige that the community around the Hermitage of Santa Maria delle Grazie had earned.. In a letter addressed to Vasari, he wrote that he had experienced "great pleasure in the mountains of Spoleto visting these hermits.." and "that truly only in the woods is there peace", which has become a motto that can be found repeated many times around the Hermitage.

The bishop of Spoleto, Sanvitale in 1591 and Cardinal Cybo (1613-1700) were so fond of the place that they expanded and enriched it with beautiful decor.
In 1806 the army of Napoleon occupied the Hermitage, leaving signs on the walls of their presence, showing that the Hermitage may have been used as a hospital.
In 1860 the heritage of the Congregation of the Hermit Friars of Monteluco passed to the local Charitable Congregation and the Hermitage was subsequently sold to a private owner. In 1918 it was bought by Professor Arrigo Piperno, a famous dentist who had amongst his patients noted public figures such as Pope Pius XII, members of the royal family, D'Annunzio and Mussolini.  In 1952 his nephew, Professor Pio Lalli, bought the Hermitage from him and continued the conservation and refurbishing work with the same passion with which his beloved uncle had started it. In 1991 it was listed as a 'Historic Residence' (the first of its kind in Umbria) with the aim of  bringing attention to the antique building and its historical importance, both in Italy and abroad.