Farfa Abbey (Rieti)
Farfa Abbey profoundly influenced the history of the whole of the Sabina area, having controlled, during it's "golden age", nearly all the nearby towns and villages. But it wasn't only important on a local level, in fact it was one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in Europe and played a major role in the power struggles between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, opposing the power of the Papacy for centuries. The role of the Abbey in conserving knowledge and culture and in spreading new technologies during a period of instability, invasions and depopulation caused by plague should not be underestimated.
The exact date of the foundation of the Abbey is uncertain, according to legend it was founded in the sixth century by St. Lorenzo Siro. After a period in which it was abandoned due to the Longobard invasions the monastery was rebuilt by St. Tommaso of Moriana, around 680 AD, after he had a vision during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in which the Virgin Mary appeared to him and instructed him to find and reconstruct the ruined basilica.
The monastery, which followed the Benedictine rule, immediately assumed an important political role. Under the protection of the Dukes of Spoleto and the Longobard kings the Abbey became rich, assuming control of many nearby castles and villages and opposing the power of Rome. In 775 AD the monastery sided with Charlemagne, a happy choice which led to the further expansion of the Abbey's influence and the reconstruction of the basilica on a larger scale under the Abbot Sicardo, (830-842 AD). In 897 AD the Abbey was abandoned and burned again due to the Saracen invasions. The reconstruction began in 913 AD but with the decline of the Caroline empire several decades passed before the Abbey was able to regain it's former power. Under the Abbot Ugo I (997-1038 AD) and his successors the monastery saw a political and spiritual renaissance, regaining its lands in the Sabina.
With the crisis in the Benedictine order and the struggle for the Papacy in the twelfth century the Abbey began to decline and eventually fell under the control of the Papal States. From here on it's history follows that of the Vatican and the struggles between powerful Roman families for it's control. In 1477 AD the Orsini family asserted it's growing power in the Sabina by expelling all the monks of Farfa and replacing them with Teutonic monks. In the following centuries the Abbey passed under the control of various Roman nobles such as the Barberini and the Farnese but it never really reacquired the importance and independence it once had. Finally, in 1841 AD its powers were definitively transferred to the diocese of the Sabina.
Farfa Abbey played a vital role not only in the religious and political life of the area but also in it's economic development. This is demonstrated by the importance of the Farfa Fair, which already existed in 882 AD Thanks to generous concessions from the Caroline Empire Farfa became a focal point for trade with an important weekly market. After the reconstruction of the monastery by the Orsinis during the Renaissance new shops were built around the monastery to accommodate the merchants, giving birth to a twice yearly fair lasting 15 days. These shops and the urban structure of which they are part can still be seen today and the street names reflect the original uses of each street, for example "via di droghe e cere" (street of medicines and waxes), "via di panni e sete" (street of cloths and silks) and so on. You can still see the characteristic stone slabs at the entrance to each shop which were used as counters by the merchants.
For more information visit: www.sabina.it
Abey of Saint Paul outside the walls (Rome)
In addition to the Papal Basilica, the entire complex includes a very ancient Benedictine Abbey, restored by Odon of Cluny in 936. This Abbey remains active even today under the direction of its Abbot who retains his ordinary jurisdiction intra septa monasterii. The Benedictine Monks of the ancient Abbey, founded near the tomb of the Apostle by Pope Gregory II (715-731), attend to the ministry of Reconciliation (or Penance) and the promotion of special ecumenical events.
Tre Fontane Abbey (Roma)
Tre Fontane Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Vincent and Anastasius, is a Roman Catholic abbey in Rome, currently held by the Cistercian Order.
Connected with and belonging to the monastery are three separate churches. The first, the Church of St. Paul of Three Fountains, was raised over the spot where St. Paul was beheaded by order of Emperor Nero. Legend says that the head, once severed from the body, bounced, striking the earth in three different places from which fountains sprang up, which flow to the present day and are located within the sanctuary itself.
The second, originally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Our Lady of Martyrs", is built over the relics of Saint Zeno and his 10,203 legionaries, who were martyred here at the order of Diocletian in 299. In this church is the altar "Scala Coeli" ("ladder to heaven"), from which the church receives its present name. Finally there are the church and monastery dedicated to Saints Vincent and Anastasius, built by Pope Honorius I in 626 and given to the Benedictines, who were to care for the two older sanctuaries, as well as their own church.
Towards the middle of the seventh century the persecutions inflicted on the Eastern monks by the Monothelites obliged many of them to seek shelter in Rome, and this abbey was committed to them as a refuge.
(Source: wikipedia)
Fossanova Abbey (Latina)
Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a Cistercian monastery in Italy, in the province of Rome, near the railway-station of Priverno, c. 100 kilometers south-east of Rome. It is the finest example of a Cistercian abbey, and of the Burgundian Early Gothic style, in Italy, and dates from the end of the 12th to the end of the 13th century. The church (1187-1208) is closely similar to that of Casamari. The other conventual buildings also are noteworthy. Saint Thomas Aquinas died here in 1274.
San Martino al Cimino (Viterbo)
This small town is not only attractive for its situation in the green heart of the Cimini hills, but also for the artistic and historical significance of its Abbey. Built at the end of the 13th century by the Cistercian monks of Pontigny, the building exercised a formative influence on the mediaeval architecture of the entire Viterbo area. The architecture has highly evolved gothic-Cistercian features. Standing next to the Abbey is the Doria Pamphilij Palace, a building that incorporates part of the former monastery (the Romanesque main door, for example). Built by Donna Olimpia Maidalchini-Pamphilij, sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X, the building was completely restored in 1652 with the assistance of a number of master artists including Bernini. Today, it serves as an elegant conference centre with a monumentally huge fireplace, a number of rooms with elaborate wooden ceilings and fresco friezes. Yet the point of major interest in San Martino is the mediaeval heart of the town itself. Upon the orders of Pope Innocent X, the streets were completely refurbished by Marcantonio de’ Rossi according to the principles and standards of 17th-century town planning. (Source: Provincia di Viterbo) For further information visit: www.provincia.vt.it/
Montecassino Abbey (Frosinone)
Rising 1700 feet above sea level is the amazing and beautiful Abbey of Monte Cassino. The Abbey was founded in 529 by St. Benedict and it became home to the Roman Catholic order of Benedictines. Over the centuries the Abbey has endured many periods of success and hardship. In its existence the Abbey has been destroyed on four separate occasions. In the end it rose from the ashes to live and prosper again.
Subiaco Abbeys
In year 480 reached to Subiaco the young Benedict from Norcia that founded, after three years of meditation, along the Valley of the Aniene, thirteen monasteries and conceived the "Regula", carrying structure of the Benedictine Order. Forced to leave the sublacense region, after approximately thirties years of apostolate, he went to Montecassino where died around the year 547.
After the dead of the saint, the Valley of the Aniene was involved, like many other zones of Italy, in the Gothic-Byzantine war, forcing the inhabitants to take refuge in less accessible places, giving life to the centers of Vallepietra, Trevi and Filettino. Between VI and IX century, series of barbaric incursions left recognizable traces in the territory; in particular were destroyed, from part of the Saraceni, twelve of the thirteen monasteries founded from S. Benedict, only leaving the one of S. Scolastica.
At the beginning of the sec. X the historical documents become more reliable and numerous, and they indicates us a feudal period under Abbot Lion III. The period that goes from the second half of the sec. XI to before the XII marks, for Subiaco, the maximum splendor. Of this period, in fact, are the restorations of S.Scolastica and the construction of the Rocca Abbaziale (or Rocca of Borgia), which it followed that one of the Monastery of the Sacred Speco, until then simple cove even if reputed sanctuary from the age of S.Gregorio Magno.
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