Santuario di Greccio
On a wooded hillside 665 metres above the Rieti Valley, a stone staircase cut into the rock leads you up to the place where the nativity scene was invented. On Christmas Eve 1223, Francis of Assisi gathered local people around a manger in a grotto here and reenacted the birth at Bethlehem — the first presepe on record. The stone beneath the altar of the Cappella del Presepio still marks where the Christ child figure was laid.
The sanctuary grew around that grotto. The Church of San Francesco went up in 1228–1229, the year after Francis was canonised, folding the cave into its walls. Centuries of additions followed — a dormitory with fifteen wooden cells where friars slept until 1915, a belvedere terrace looking out over the valley, a modern church completed in 1959. The oldest layer, though, is still the one that draws people up the stairs.
💛 What travellers fall for
Those who come back tend to mention the Cella di San Francesco — the small rock-cut oratory where Francis prayed alone, now holding an 18th-century fresco of his death. It's easy to walk past on the way to the chapel. Don't. And the Grotto of Giovanni da Parma, in the woods against the cliff face, rewards anyone willing to push a little further.
The story behind Santuario di Greccio
Francis first came to Greccio around 1209 or 1217 — the exact year is disputed — drawn by the wooded solitude of the hills above the Rieti Valley. Giovanni Velita, the local feudal lord and a close friend, encouraged him to stay, and Francis eventually lived here from late September 1224 until six months before his death in 1226. It was during an earlier stay, in 1223, that he staged the nativity reenactment that would become a tradition replicated across the world.
After Francis's canonisation in July 1228, the Franciscan order built the Church of San Francesco within a year, preserving the grotto at its heart. The blessed friar Giovanni da Parma spent 32 years in penitence in a nearby cave between 1257 and 1289. The dormitory attributed to the tenure of Saint Bonaventure as Minister General (1260–1270) still stands, its fifteen wooden cells intact. A lunette fresco from 1409, attributed to the anonymous Master of Narni, lines the chapel wall — Giottesque in style, showing the Greccio nativity alongside the one in Bethlehem.
Good to know
The sanctuary sits 2 km from the village of Greccio and about 15 km from Rieti; a car is the practical option. Parking, a bar and an information office sit at the base of the rock staircase. Entry is free, every day of the year, 9:00–18:00 (until 19:00 in July and August). Allow at least ninety minutes.
Spring (May–June) and early autumn (September) bring the most comfortable conditions, with temperatures between 20 and 26°C and clear views across the valley. Winters are cold and occasionally foggy, with January lows touching freezing; summers are warm and mostly dry, though the altitude keeps the heat more manageable than the valley below.
Where is Santuario di Greccio?
More tickets & tours for Santuario di Greccio
Book directly at the provider
What travellers say about Santuario di Greccio
A very special and spiritual experience. You will find the tracks of the San Francisco and San Bonaventura and the simple way they lived . This “simple way “ fascinating even in this modern time hundreds of people that are visiting every day this sacred places.
Lots of creativity.... A good place to be ....
A tranquil, scenic sanctuary made famous by St Francis of Assisi as he created the 1st Christmas crib in Greccio in the 13th century. There is an exhibition of Christmas cribs from around the world. A lovely Chapel for prayer & quiet reflection.
Very prayerful atmosphere, pretty chapel, nice exhibit of creches from around the eorld., Beautiful views of the surrounding terrain, and the possibility to walk a short trail through nature in the spirit of St. Francis.
Place full of Christmas happiness
More of Rieti
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Rieti →More attractions in Rieti
All of Rieti →
Background adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ratings & place photos via Google · other photos with per-image credit. Ticket links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.