According to tradition, Giolo, born in Sellano in the 13th century, lived a hermit’s life in a grotto on Mount Giove, where a small oratory was built in the 16th century dedicated to Saint Lorenzo.
Although in a position hard to reach from a narrow, almost impassable path, the grotto today is the frequent destination of devout pilgrims who caress the cliff and take home small stones that they keep in their pockets all year as relics or talismans, only after leaving on site the ones they took the year before. It seems that water seeps through the rock walls from a spring nearby with therapeutic properties.
It is said that the Blessed Giolo carried up to his refuge a piece of burning coal that he was charitably given; he wrapped it in his robe which miraculously did not catch on fire. The people were particularly devoted to him following his death in 1315 and many people from Sellano claimed miracles in his name. The most significant concerned the nebbia miracolosa (miraculous fog), thanks to which a dispute between neighboring castles finally ended over who would be keeper of the saint’s remains. Only the inhabitants of Sellano were allowed to go to where the Blessed Giolo’s body lay; it was moved and kept at the St Lorenzo Church in Ottaggi and then moved to the parish church of S. Maria in Sellano (where the remains are kept today). It was only in 1780 on specific request of the Sellano inhabitants that the bishop of Spoleto officially granted permission to worship the Blessed Giolo.