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A glass coffin hides a perfectly preserved hermit in this monastery built into a cliff.
The monastery of Santa Caterina del Sasso in Leggiuno is built into the face of a cliff overlooking the beautiful Lake Maggiore. Approaching by boat, it seems almost too picturesque to be real. The church website promotes its scenic perch as a big tourist draw, but fails to mention the full beatified hermit laid out in a glass coffin within. From the jetty, the entrance to the monastery requires ascending several sets of stone steps—about 80 steps in all—up the side of the cliff. There, visitors are rewarded with a secluded garden courtyard leading to an unassuming church door. It is in this chapel that you’ll find the extremely well-preserved body of Alberto Besozzi, the 12th-century hermit who built the chapel.
