The instructions are clear. We must leave the car in a remote area near the river, about ten kilometres from Parrano. We’re in one of Italy’s largest forested areas, a 3,000-hectare natural reserve recognised as a Unesco World Heritage site. After navigating through a series of bumps in a Jeep, we arrive at Eremito, Europe’s first luxury resort for solitary traveller.
The contemporary hermitage
This is the dream of Marcello Murzilli, a visionary from Rome who made his fortune in the 1980s with the fashion brand El Charro (leather goods). Later, he sailed around the world on a yacht: “I lived for 14 years in the Mexican jungle, a 10,000-hectare nature reserve. That intense experience stayed with me. I was searching for a place of my own, for people like me. I began visiting hermitages and monasteries, my true passion, to find my path.” His voice is slow and solemn. He found his destination in Umbria, where in 2009, he brought back to life an old hermitage that had fallen into ruins. He worked the stone by hand with a local craftsman, Rolando. No architect was involved, but Murzilli had a clear vision: a secular, contemporary hermitage.
There is no internet, no phone signal, no televisions—a complete digital detox. The rooms, known as “celluzze,” are nine square metres in size, with an iron bed, a stone seat, and a water jug. That’s all. In the afternoon, you can enjoy a steam bath in the wellness area. Some guests do yoga, others read romance novels. Dinner is served at 7:30 pm, in complete silence, accompanied by Gregorian chants. No one speaks; the meal is simple, vegetarian, and humble: “I studied monastic recipes; we eat what the garden provides.” To drink, there’s water or rustic red wine—not particularly memorable. We notice a few slightly uncomfortable American tourists, a Canadian, and a German, with whom we chat once the silent period is over.
We’ve never been to a place like this. The sacred and the luxurious converge in a surprising way. There are no distractions, forcing us to confront ourselves. The next morning, we take a walk along the river, seeing nothing but forest and a couple of deer. Fully recharged, we set off again.
Eremito - Località Tarina 2 – 05010 Parrano (Terni) Sito
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