He craved a life of quiet contemplation. Resigning his city post, he withdrew to the family mansion here on the Caelian Hill, which he converted into a monastic community. A church dedicated to Gregory, Gregorio Magno, now stands on the same site. And his spirit lives on in the custodians of the church, the monks of the Camaldolese Order. Freed from the stresses of public office, the years spent in prayer and reflection here were the happiest of Gregory's life. This is said to be Gregory's monastic cell, but there's a feature of this room that a lot of visitors miss. That's behind this grille. If you open it, look inside, there's just room in there for a small man to sleep. This is a very serene place, and it must have seemed as if Gregory would never return to the dirty world of power and intrigue. But Gregory's seclusion was short-lived.


他渴望一种静心冥想的生活。从罗马市长的职位上退下来之后，他便退居到了西莲山上的家族公馆，并把它变成了一个修道社区。在那里现在还矗立着一座纪念格里高利的教堂。他的精神已经活在了教堂的守护者们——卡马多莱斯僧侣们的心中。从公共事务的压力下释放出来后，格里高利这些年花在祷告和思考上的时光大概是他这辈子最幸福的日子。这里就是格里高利的修道小屋了，但是这间小屋还有一个特色是很多旅客没有发现的。玄机便在这扇格子窗的后面。如果你打开它往里看，那里有一个很小的屋子仅能容下一个瘦小的男人睡觉。这是一个很静谧的地方，这里可以看成是能让格里高利远离尘世权利和纷争的庇护所。但是格里高利的隐居生活并没有维持多久。