The Nature Reserve of the Gole di S. Venanzio is a natural protected area in the territory of Raiano (L’Aquila) presenting various morphological aspects.  

In the area where the gorges are located, the reserve showcases its wild side along the impetuous and bubbling banks of the Aterno River, which creeps between inaccessible rocks until it reaches the impressive Hermitage of San Venanzio. Here, the environment begins to soften into a verdant alluvial plain.  

The hermitage can be dated to the end of the fifteenth century. It has a very particular location right beside the river, in a green oasis tucked into the rocks.  

On the way there, signs of ancient devotion are present in the form of devotional niches containing footprints which, according to legend, the Saint left on the mountain’s rocks.  

The church houses some frescoes and an ancient sixteenth-century Lamentation in polychrome terracotta of considerable value.  

Inside the church, walking by the Scala Santa, is the complete form of a human body engraved in the rock. According to tradition, it was molded directly from the Saint’s body, and believers practice the ritual of laying on it to cure aching bones.

(Translation by Paula Qefaliaj and Matthew Prisco)