The convent of Lugnano
The convent of Lugnano in Teverina was built in honour of the Saint, who, according to tales, saved a child here as he was about to be devoured by a wolf. In 1229 the building works began on the convent, which, on the inside, contains some paintings portraying the fight between the wolf and the duck that was sent by Francis to save the child. Lugnano is located along the local Amerino road between Amelia and Orvieto. The stupendous Romanic collegiate church is to be visited in the small centre.


The Swallows of Alviano
Among the treasures of the Castle of Alviano, there is also the portrayal contained in the chapel inside the fortified building, of the miracle of the swallows. A recently restored fresco which represents a fact that actually happened, which caused great wonder among the people who had turned up to listen to the words of Saint Francis. A sermon disturbed by the swallows that were chirping. The saint turned to “sister swallows” and obtained their silence. The cappella delle Rondini (Chapel of the Swallows) is today also an interesting panorama with lookouts over the Tiber plain and over the natural oasis of Alviano. Alviano can be reached from Orvieto through the local Amerino Road.


The grotta of Guardea
Tradition has it that in the grotta, which stands just a few metres away from the Church of Santa Illuminata, in the Alviano countryside, Saint Francis retired to pray and rest. The grotta is the object of popular reverence, as is the church, it too, with the convent, a locality closely linked to Franciscanism. It is sure that some of the Saint’s brother monks spent their lives there, among whom Giovanni Tientalbene and the beato Pascuccio. For centuries the remains of the beato were kept at Santa Illuminata and subsequently moved to the main church in nearby Guardea (along the local Amerina road) and it is near some now unused travertine caves, which are now an authentic industrial archaeological exhibit.