The sometimes wild Maremma landscape offers those of us with an adventurous spirit the chance to discover some out-of-the-way beauty spots, uncontaminated Nature and moments for reflection, perfect for a spiritual retreat, such as the Eremo di Poggio Conte.
Again, virtually every town has its sanctuary or shrine where it's claimed the Virgin Mary or another saint appeared in a vision to travellers or locals… There's even a crying statue of the Madonna in Civitavecchia.

Eremo di Poggio Conte
Ischia di Castro
Hermits in times past chose deserted spots for reflection, prayer and meditation, often choosing ancient sacred sites or natural caves close to purifying streams.
One such place is the River Fiora valley just south of the Tuscany/Lazio border near a place called Ponte San Pietro. This is the setting for the Eremo di Poggio Conte: a tiny chapel and living quarters dug out of the tuff rock, to the side of a high dripping rock above the river that forms a sort of amphitheatre (sometimes used today for concerts). The Civic Museum in nearby Ischia di Castro contains many of the frescos from the hermitage, though some are still to be seen in situ. The locals will tell you that this practice is far from dead: only a few years ago there was a modern-day hermit here for several years!

Crying statue of the Madonna
Civitavecchia
On 2nd February 1995, a statue of Our Lady (sculpted in Medjugorie) in the parish of Sant'Agostino, Civitavecchia was seen to start crying during a religious ceremony.
Since then the "Madonnina" has cried another 14 times, each time seen by many witnesses who have testified during the sessions of the Theological Commission set up by the Bishop of Civitavecchia, who even held this small statue in his hands during the last incident. Obviously, this phenomenon has caused a lot of debate and controversy between believers and atheists. The statue has been scientifically examined: no devices or tricks there.
On 17th June 1995 the bishop decided to protect the statue inside a glass cabinet so that people could come and visit it. Since then there has been a constant flow of pilgrims from all over the world coming to venerate the "Madonnina di Civitavecchia".

Sanctuary of the Madonna del Cerro
Tuscania
The sancturary of the Madonna del Cerro in the territory of Tuscania is close by the ruins of a fountain that collects the local spring water. The area is known to have been considered a sacred site for centuries. Until just a few decades ago there was a small market here, where two ancient paths met: one now a provincial road and the other heading north towards Piansano. The sanctuary, recently restored, was built back in the 1600s, with additions in the 18th Century.
There's a procession from Tuscania to this sanctuary on the 25th of March. WHY???