Sanctuary of Greccio
View of the Sanctuary
42°27′42.99″N 12°45′3.68″E / 42.4619417°N 12.7510222°E / 42.4619417; 12.7510222
Location	Greccio
Country	Italy
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Hermitage
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church
Completed	1228
Administration
Province	Rieti
Diocese	Rieti

The Hermitage of Greccio Sanctuary (Italian: Santuario Eremo di Greccio) is one of the four shrines erected by Saint Francis of Assisi in the Sacred Valley, along with the Sanctuary of Fonte Colombo, the Sanctuary of the Forest, and the convent of Poggio Bustone. It is located in the Italian town of Greccio, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city of Rieti, seat of the homonym province, is recessed at an altitude of 665 metres (2,182 ft) above sea level, in the rocks of the mountains in the immediate vicinity of the medieval village of Greccio with views of the wide Rieti Valley.

Francis presented the first living Nativity scene in a nearby cave in December 1223.

The Saint Francis of Assisi legendarium affirms that he chose this place for devotions. A story within the legendarium tells of a child to whom Francis threw a firebrand, flying like an arrow, and it landed on the rock wall of a hill, the Velita, owned by a lord of Greccio.

In 1223, Francis here observed and oversaw a retelling, with live people, of the story the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve. Since then, Greccio and its sanctuary is the country of the first nativity scene in the world. Later it was twinned with Bethlehem.

The shrine is a Latin cross, characterized by a side wall and an apse hexagonal. The mullioned windows are Gothic style. Inside there are frescoes modern and original chapel of the saint carved in the rock. The church is located after crossing the square. It joins the refectory. The church has a Latin cross with a bell tower. Under the medieval church is the crypt of St. Francis with a lunette showing the 'Preparation of the Nativity. The painting dates from the 13th century.

• Media related to Santuario di Greccio at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Francis of Assisi
Organisations	Order of Friars Minor (Custody of the Holy Land) Order of Saint Clare Secular Franciscan Order Third Order of Saint Francis
Works by Francis	Canticle of the Sun
Created	Sanctuary of Greccio Nativity scene (live)
Honors	Feast of Saints Francis and Catherine World Animal Day
Literature about	Little Flowers of St. Francis
Visual art	Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (Caravaggio) Saint Francis in Meditation (Caravaggio) Saint Francis in Prayer (Caravaggio) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Caravaggio) Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (Giotto) São Francisco (Gonçalves) St Francis (Zurbarán) Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (van Eyck) St. Francis in Ecstasy (Bellini) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (studio of El Greco) St. Francis in Ecstasy (Zurbarán)
Music	"All Creatures of Our God and King" The Canticle of the Sun (Sowerby) Le Laudi (Suter oratorio) Légende No. 1 (Liszt) Laudato si' (Reulein oratorio) Quatre petites prières de saint François d'Assise
Stage	Nobilissima Visione (1938 ballet) Saint François d'Assise (1983 Messiaen opera) Samstag aus Licht (1983 Stockhausen opera)
Films	Frate Sole (1918) The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) Francis of Assisi (1961) Francesco di Assisi (1966) Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) Francesco (1989) St. Francis (2002) Clare and Francis (2007)
Related	List of places named after Saint Francis Madonna of Foligno Wolf of Gubbio Discalced Prayer of Saint Francis Society of Saint Francis Pope Francis "The Sermon of St. Francis" (poem) Pranchiyettan & the Saint
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