Set in the slopes of Mount Porrara at an altitude of about 1,300 m in the municipality of Palena, the Hermitage of Madonna dell’Altare witnessed the ascetic life of Pietro da Morrone, who retired into a solitary cave on this mountain in 1235. In 1294, the hermit was elected Pope with the name of Celestine V, but his papacy lasted only 5 months and then he decided to abdicate; whence the famous epithet “who made by his cowardice the grand refusal”, given by Dante in the Divine Comedy. The hermitage is reached through the vegetation that covers the whole path, including mixed wood and beech grove. Along the path, nature surrounds attentive visitors with its biodiversity and instils them with fascination related to these very mystical places.