The Santa Caterina Hermitage in Rio nell'Elba

The Hermitage of Santa Caterina is located along the road connecting Rio nell'Elba to Nisporto.

The walls that now form the Hermitage of Santa Caterina date back to 1624, but the church, hermitage, and hortus conclusus were probably built before the arrival of the first hermit, on top of an older and smaller temple, whose apse was oriented towards the mountain.

The facade features a broken pediment at the top and two small windows. The interior consists of a nave that culminates in an altar flanked by dark stone columns from local quarries. The church is topped with a low bell tower in the shape of a pyramid.

According to tradition, the hermitage was expanded and beautified following an apparition of Saint Catherine, who, beautiful and dressed in white, is said to have appeared on a spring afternoon to a shepherd, asking to celebrate this vision every Easter Monday.

Every year, on Easter Monday, the day the Saint's apparition is celebrated, the people of Rio nell'Elba go to the Hermitage to celebrate the festa della sportella, a traditional sweet for lovers typical of Rio nell'Elba, whose origins seem to date back to a pagan ritual related to spring and fertility.

Following the miraculous events and the restoration work on the structure, the hermitage became a pilgrimage site for all of Elba.

Here, sailors used to bring their ex-votos to thank the Saint for the dangers they had escaped at sea. There was also a custom among the sailors of Rio nell'Elba to pay homage to the church when leaving the coast, greeting it with their hats off and flags at half-mast.

Fun Fact: Many legends are also connected to the painting of the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, commissioned and donated by the Appiani family, which once adorned the church's altar. It is said that the commissioner, believing the painter had depicted the Saint with a neck too long, unsuccessfully tried to convince him to retouch the painting. Only after fervent prayers throughout one night, the neck was brought back to normal proportions.

The last custodian lived at the sanctuary until 1858. After that, the church was completely abandoned and fell into ruin, suffering three major thefts: the large painting of Saint Catherine, the family crest, and a strange marble mask used for offerings.

Thanks to the brilliant intuition of the German photographer and writer Hans Georg Berger, who rediscovered this place over thirty years ago in a state of total abandonment, the Hermitage of Santa Caterina has now become a crossroads of knowledge and thoughts: an active center for artistic and scientific creation, often hosting art and photography exhibitions.

Since the 1990s, the Hermitage of Santa Caterina has been the location of the Orto dei Semplici and a catalog field, established to promote research and initiatives on the natural and cultivated flora of Elba Island and the Tuscan islands, aiming to protect its diversity and highlight its botanical uses.