La Verna

Sanctuary of La Verna
Basilica of the Sanctuary of La Verna
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Province	Arezzo
Rite	Latin Rite
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Papal minor basilica
Location
Location	Chiusi della Verna, Italy
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance
Groundbreaking	1348
Completed	1459
Direction of façade	SW

La Verna (Latin: Alverna) is a locality on Mount Penna (Italian: Monte Penna), an isolated mountain of 1,283 metres (4,209 ft) situated in the centre of the Tuscan Apennines, rising above the valley of the Casentino, central Italy. The place is known especially for its association with Saint Francis of Assisi (he is said to have received the stigmata here) and for the Sanctuary of La Verna (Santuario della Verna), which grew up in his honour. Administratively it falls within the Tuscan province of Arezzo and the comune of Chiusi della Verna, Italy.

The Sanctuary of La Verna, located a few kilometers from Chiusi della Verna (Arezzo), in the National Park of Casentino Forests, Mount Falterona and Campigna, is famous for being the place where St. Francis of Assisi would receive the stigmata on September 14, 1224. Built in the southern part of Mount Penna at 1,128 metres (3,701 ft) high, the Sanctuary is home to numerous chapels and places of prayer and meditation^[1] In August 1921 Pope Benedict XV elevated the church to the status of minor basilica.^[1][2]