Around the year 1378, brother Paoluccio Trinci from Foligno, beginner of the “movement of the Observance” (a reform which began by accentuating the hermitage way of life), demanded and obtained for himself and his movement the Hermitage of the Carcer He had a narrow dormitory built right up against the mountain, with “eight tiny cells, so narrow that a somewhat tall man would barely fit.” Brother Paoluccio called virtuous brothers who loved solitude, poverty and a truly contemplative life to live in this hermitage, so that they could preserve the memory of the Seraphic Father and of his companions, imitating their virtues.

            St. Bernadine of Siena, the first Vicar General of the movement of the Observance, loved all those hermitages where St. Francis had lived, and in particular he loved this hermitage so much that, according to an ancient tradition, a part of the friary of the 15^th century is dedicated to him (this is testified by the rose window above the entrance to the small friary, which contains in its centre the “symbol of the Name of Jesus” JHS, characteristic sign of the devotion which he diffused.) 

Since then, until today, the brothers who have been here through the centuries expanded the construction according to the needs of the time, until giving it it’s present form, preserving however the style and spirit of holy poverty and of her sister the pure and holy simplicity.