Preci

The pretty town of Preci overlooks the Castoriana valley, nestled below the peaks of the National Park of Mount Sibillini. It was a refuge for many hermit-monks, drawn the fertile river valley during the the Benedictine period in the Middle Ages.

The city was mentioned by St Gregory in 594 AD for the presence of several pre-Benedictine monasteries. Among these is the Abbey Sant'Eutizio, who "radicalized" the monastic vocation of St Benedict. The abbey had a very active community from the ninth to the thirteenth century. It was declared a town within the pontifical state in 1817 by Pope Pius VII. The beautiful abbey of Sant'Eutizio is built in travertine and is a peaceful oasis, with quiet cloisters and a charming church. There was a Benedictine presence here until 2015, when the remaining two monks were transferred to Cascia and the abbey given to the parish of Norcia. St. Benedict, by the way, but born in Norcia and there is an active community of monks there, who welcome visitors, maintain the basilica, and sell their monastery-made products.

Preci was destroyed and rebuilt a few times in long history, from earthquakes and invasions. It rests in Umbria right where it meets the region of Le Marche. Preci is near Norcia, Spoleto and the flower-filled mountain valley of Castelluccio.