Courtesy of Kerry Wolfe
Isolation is tough—people have had to endure not seeing friends, spending the holidays and milestones without family, and getting to the end of everything on Netflix. But for medieval monks, isolation wasn't only a way of life, but a means to protect all of Christendom. According to the 5th century's Augustine of Hippo, monks lived in the “City of God,” and their holy work protected those who lived in the “Earthly City,” a.k.a. the rest of us. In other words, the more isolated the monastery, the better. Feast your eyes on five of the world’s most precariously placed monasteries.