The abbey of San Benedetto al Subasio reopens to the public, a few kilometers from Assisi, where Saint Francis received the keys to the Porziuncola.
Closed after the 1997 earthquake, after the renovation works that followed, the ancient abbey which dates back to the 11th century but perhaps even earlier, will be accessible to visitors again at the end of this month, after 19 March (the chosen day specifically in honor of Saint Joseph), the day on which a very special custodian will come into service.
Yes, because who will take care of the Abbey (owned by the Benedictines San Pietro di Assisi but managed by the nuns of the Benedictine monastery Sant'Anna di Bastia Umbra), who will welcome those who want to enter the silent and meditative atmosphere of the abbey, or to know even just its spectacular artistic structure, he is an aspiring hermit, a man motivated by spirituality, who has been looking for a hermitage to live in to practice his beliefs for years.
"The hermitage has always been in my head, I have been cultivating this idea for years" says Alberto Cisco, 53 years old, architect, from Bologna but originally from Vicenza.
First a teacher, then a public manager for 14 years, a job he left: "it was a world that I didn't like, that didn't belong to me. I resigned and took some time, somewhat forced by private events that made me suffer a lot."
Opportunity made possible by the Jesuits of Villa S. Giuseppe in Bologna, which he had already attended years earlier in the initial youthful idea of dedicating himself to religious life, and where he remained for a year and a half: "I felt the need to do something for others. It was a place that gave me a lot. I was finally doing what I liked, dedicating myself to religion and people."
Life in a hermitage, however, remains Alberto's goal and he has a first experience, lasting two months, at the hermitage of San Giorgio in Savigno, in the province of Bologna, in a project for the reopening of the abandoned rectories.
Then he meets the nuns of Bastia Umbra, in particular the abbess, Sister Noemi Scarpa, who while they are working for the olive harvest last year understands the sense of life that moves this man, mild, calm, attentive and open to people , and proposes to him to be that custodian he has been looking for for a while so as not to let the jewel of the Abbey continue to remain closed.
Alberto takes some time to think about it, he leaves for Sierra Leone as a volunteer, to build bathrooms in a school of the Poor Clare missionary nuns of the Blessed Sacrament.
Upon his return, everything is clear: he will accept the proposal made to him, he will take care of the Subasio Abbey.
"Absurdly - he explains to ANSA - I am attracted to the life of a hermit not to isolate myself but to be available to meet the other with a capital L. Loneliness doesn't scare me, on the contrary. I feel the need for an isolated, silent place , to get closer to others in a more true and profound way. It is like a greater availability towards others possible for me through isolation and a continuous search for God".
Since last January, Alberto, together with the nuns, has been working on the reopening, which is also eagerly awaited by the inhabitants of Assisi;
Therefore, the timetables for keeping the hermitage open, the routes to follow, putting up signs and improving access are being prepared.
"I will accompany anyone who wants it on the tour, explaining to them the abbey and the historical moments that he lived through.
This place is open primarily for spiritual research, we have five rooms for hospitality, but it is available to all those who want it."
At the abbey, nestled in a thick forest, in a dominant position over Assisi, Alberto will live in isolation, in the company only of Birba, his dog, and Macchia, his cat. And of the moments in which pilgrims and tourists want to share the architectural beauty of the place with him. At the entrance, visitors will find a box where they can leave a offer, if they wish. "I live on providence, no compensation is foreseen, no one pays me.
The nuns provide my food, the abbey provides accommodation, and I will be able to count on offerings for all my expenses.
But I'm happy.
I'm starting - he underlines - the life I've wanted for a long time.
I'm in a hermitage and I'm fine." And then, "if I think that the abbey appears in a fresco by Giotto on the life of Saint Francis that can be seen in the upper basilica of Assisi, what more could I want?
This is the place for me.
I'm happy to be here."
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