to develop nails of hardened flesh which protruded from his hands and feet. He also began to form a wound in his side like that of Christ. Thus La Verna came to be seen as sacred ground. Pope Alexander IV took it under his protection. In 1260 a church was consecrated there in presence of St. Bonaventure and several bishops. A few years later the Chapel of the Stigmata was erected, paid for by Count Simone of Battifole, near the spot where the miracle took place. The Chiesa Maggiore was begun in 1348, although not finished until 1459. The convent From the Chiesa Maggiore the friars dwelling on La Verna go in solemn procession twice daily to the Chapel of the Stigmata. On the Feast of the Stigmata (September 17) and on other festivals, large crowds of priests with their people from neighbouring parishes, as well as strangers, visit the mountains, and on such occasions the friars often accommodate and entertain between 2,000 and 3,000 pilgrims. The friary was partly destroyed by fire in the 15th century; it suffered desecration also during the war of this century. In 1810, and again in 1866, the friars were expelled in consequence of the suppression of religious orders; but at present they are in full possession of La Verna. Buildings Chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli The building was the Chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Mary in Heaven), built in 1216 by St. Francis himself. He took the name from his home in Assisi. It was also in 1216, that Francis experienced the apparition Mary. Count Orlando helped finance the original plan. It was after only 1250, that the church was enlarged at the direction of Cardinal Rainaldo and Pope Innocent IV. It was consecrated in 1260. To the right of the Major Basilica, under a low porch is the chapel. It has a single nave, divided into two parts. Renovated and expanded after 1250. Of the original structure only the bell of 1257, on the belfry remains unchanged. Inside are two paintings of the Florentine painter Ferdinand Folchi of 1877. They depict a meeting between St. Francis and the Count Orlando Catani at the fortress of San Leo in Montefeltro, when he give the sacred Mount of Verna to the friars, 8 May 1213, the other depicts the dedication of the church Santa Maria degli Angeli. The partition between the two