The convent of Monteluco is 7 km from Spoleto: 800 meters high, in a thick forest. It is considered a sacred mountain ("lucus") from antiquity: the stone copy of the so-called "Lex luci spoletina" is placed at the entrance of the wood, where the sacredness of the place dedicated to Jupiter is recalled. Around the V century, Monteluco became the seat of a vast hermit movement: a group of monks anchorites - including San Giuliano - founded their own colony, living in caves and prohibiting access to women. Later these places passed to the Benedictines.
St. Francis first arrived in 1218; according to tradition, he built a wicker cell next to a small church dedicated to St. Catherine and donated to him, perhaps by the Benedictines. This is the primitive structure around which the convent will be built.
In 1373 the convent was entrusted to Paoluccio Trinci, with the bull of Gregory XI: later, the Observants passed to the Reformed. St. Bernardino of Siena can be considered the true architect of the current convent: he built a primitive building for religious, expanded the premises and created places for fraternal life. Before him, only a few huts could be seen.
With the reform of 1600, the convent was further expanded to accommodate the novitiate and the clergy.
The church is small and houses the tomb of b. Leopold and other religious saints. On the altar, there is an inlaid tabernacle, while the two walnut cabinets are full of relics of all kinds, 678 of which belonged to Pope Urban VIII. Some primitive cells have also been preserved in the convent. The corridor in which the rooms of the friars and postulants open is enriched by a spacious library.
On the lower floor are located the refectory, the kitchen and the pantry.
The convent has a rather large vegetable garden. In the woods, you can still see the caves inhabited by holy and contemplative friars, such as Antonio di Padova, Bernardino da Siena and Francesco da Pavia.
About 200 meters from the building is the small cemetery of the convent.