were built and the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (1216–18). The decisive impulse to the development of a large monastery was given by the episode of the stigmata (1224). The last visit of Francis to the mountain was in the summer of 1224. He retired in August, for a 40-day fast in preparation for the feast of St. Michael, and while he was absorbed in prayer, he received the stigmata. Pope Alexander IV took the site under papal protection and in 1260 a church was built and consecrated. St. Bonaventure and many bishops were in attendance. A few years later the Chapel of the Stigmata was built by Count Simon of Battifolle, close to the place of the miracle. An older chapel, Santa Maria degli Angeli, had been built in 1218 by St. Francis. The main church was begun in 1348 but remained unfinished until 1459. From the main church, the friars make a solemn procession twice a day to the Chapel of the Stigmata. The monastery was partially destroyed by fire in the fifteenth century and later restored. The restorations took three centuries. In 1810 and in 1866 the friars were expelled temporarily following the suppression of religious orders. La Verna and Saint Francis of Assisi Count Orlando of Chiusi gave La Verna to Francis on May 8, 1213 as a retreat specially favourable for contemplation, and in 1218 built him the chapel Santa Maria degli Angeli. "I have in Tuscany a diverse little mountain, which is called the mountain of Alvernia, which is the very lonely and savage act and it's good for those who want to do penance in a place removed from the people, or those who want to lonely life. If you like, I will gladly give it to you and your comrades for my soul.” (Count Orlando of Chiusi della Verna before donating the mountain to St. Francis of Assisi, 1213.) In August, 1224, frustrated by the changes in the Order of Friars Minor, Francis withdrew to La Verna to keep a forty days fast in preparation for Michaelmas. As he arrived he was allegedly received by a multitude of singing birds which surrounded St Francis, some perching upon his shoulders, some on his arms, and others at his feet. While praying on the mountain-side he received (on or about 14 September) the stigmata. After seeing a vision of a seraphim he began