Praglia Abbey
The Abbey Praglia (Latin Abbatia Sanctae Mariae de Pratalea ; Italian Abbazia di Praglia ) is a Benedictine monastery in the province of Padua , Veneto / Italy, on the periphery of the Euganean Hills .
location
The monastery complex is located in the area of the municipality of Teolo in the plain at the foot of the wooded Monte Lonzina approx. 4 km from Abano Terme and 12 km from Padua . Via a 2 km long cul-de-sac, starting from Teolo's district ( frazione ) Bresseo , you can reach it from the main road between the center of Teolo and Abano Terme.
history
The abbey was founded in the 11th century and was the largest real estate in the region in the High Middle Ages. The original name Pratalea is derived from the Italian prato (= meadow); the abbey is surrounded by fields and meadows. The first Romanesque building was commissioned by the Counts Maltraverso dei Maltraversi from Vicenza and was completed in 1124. The monastic supervision was subject to multiple changes.
In 1448 Praglia was placed under the monastery of Santa Giustina in Padua and joined the reform association of the Benedictine order initiated by this abbey . In a 90-year construction period from 1460 onwards, the monks designed a new building for the abbey complex in the Renaissance style with a monastery church consecrated to the Annunciation according to plans by Tullio Lombardo , which were modified by Andrea Moroni in the 16th century .
After the Napoleonic conquest of the Republic of Venice , to which the lands belonged, the monastery was secularized in 1806 like all the rest of the republic. Only after the annexation of Veneto to the Republic of Italy did the Benedictine monks return temporarily, finally only in 1904. The abbey has belonged to the Sublazese Congregation of the Benedictine Order since the late 19th century , which has been reunited with the Cassinese Congregation since 2013. Stefano Visintin OSB has been Abbot of Praglia since May 24, 2019 .
The abbey church
The monastery church is a three-aisled basilica on a cross-shaped floor plan with 12 side chapels, crossing dome, choir and three apses in the forms of the early Renaissance. Apart from the upper floor, which was redesigned in the 18th century after a lightning strike, the bell tower still comes from the first Romanesque building. A monumental staircase is built in front of the church.
Inside, slender pilasters with high arches divide the nave from the aisles.
The dome is frescoed by Giovanni Battista Zelotti with scenes of the apotheosis of Christ. The dome drum depicts the birth of Christ, circumcision, the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple and the wedding in Canaa, with church fathers and evangelists in the spandrels.
The apse fresco of the Ascension of Christ was designed by Domenico Campagnola .
The altarpieces in the side chapels come from various Venetian Renaissance painters in the vicinity of Paolo Veronese ; his instructor Antonio Badile was at work alongside Zelotti . In addition to one of the Assumption of Mary by Zelotti, there is another attributed to a younger generation of Veronese students.
The renaissance choir stalls date back to the 16th century.
The oldest piece of equipment is a crucifix from the Giotto School above the high altar.
Monastery building
The chapter house, refectory and library are the central halls of the monastery buildings that are accessible on a guided tour.
- The chapter house was built around 1500. It is dominated by the monumental wall fresco Descent from the Cross by the Titian pupil Girolamo Tessari (1536).
- The wood-clad refectory dates back to the 18th century in its current design. The front wall is dominated by a crucifixion fresco by Bartolomeo Montagna ; On the side walls there are panels by Zelotti depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, which originally hung in the library room. Only the two large marble holy water basins with plant and animal ornaments in the entrance area come - like the portal - from the original Renaissance interior, ascribed to Tullio Lombardo's circle. The theme is water, which purifies the body and purifies the soul. A pulpit is attached to the west wall.
- The library (see below) is still in use today.
There are four cloisters between the branched building complexes:
- The renaissance roof cloister on the upper floor probably comes from Tullio Lombardo and replaces a Romanesque predecessor. Simple large arcades on Corinthian columns made of Istrian marble surround a patio with potted plants and a fountain. From its east side you get to the Belvedere-Loggia (17th century), also called "Loggia del Fogazzaro " in honor of the writer who donated valuable books to the library and who moved a scene from his novel Piccolo mondo antico (1895) here; This loggia offers a wide view of the Venetian plain with the Euganean thermal baths.
- The cloister buildings, which are not accessible to the visitor, are grouped around a two-storey cloister, which is called chiostro doppio (= double cloister) because of its symmetrical arcade order .
- Herbs were once grown in the patio of the Chiostro botanico (= botanical cloister); Today it is furnished more like a villa garden with boxwood borders and palm trees. This cloister is also two-story. On the ground floor, arcades rest on columns with acanthus capitals made of alternating red Veronese marble and white Istrian marble. The upper floor has typical Venetian clover-leaf biforas in the late Gothic style.
- The agricultural cloister ( chiostro rustico ) is most simply designed with unadorned arcades and rectangular windows. Some cypress trees grow around an 18th century fountain.
Vineyards, orchards, vegetable and herb gardens as well as a beekeeping, which are still cultivated by the Benedictines today, are located around the monastery buildings.
Todays use
The complex houses the Biblioteca del Monumento Nazionale di Praglia , a library included in the official list of Italian cultural assets ( Monumenti nazionali italiani ), which emerged from the medieval monastery library. However, as a result of secularization, the original holdings - which were smaller than those of Santa Giustina (Padua) - were scattered, so that the library was in fact replenished in the 19th century - largely from donations and foundations.
In the 1930s, the library grew to such an extent that it could be qualified as a monumento nazionale italiano in 1943 . Today it houses approx. 120,000 books and writings and is open to the public.
The original Renaissance library room, which is painted with frescoes by Giovanni Battista Zelotti, is still in use. It depicts scenes from the Old and New Testaments, sybils in the four corners of the ceiling and three central scenes: the triumph of faith, the four evangelists and the four church fathers. Due to the expansion of the inventory, however, the original Renaissance wooden paneling had to give way to wall shelves.
Since 1951, the Abbazia di Praglia has also had a workshop for restoring historical manuscripts and books. Approx. 25,000 manuscripts, incunabula , printed books, historical maps and drawings have since been restored, including original works by Galileo Galilei , Alessandro Manzoni and Giuseppe Garibaldi . In 1966/67, 1850 books from Florence, which were damaged by the Arno flood on November 4, 1966, and a further 2,000 books from Venice, which were victims of the flood in the same year, were saved here.
The monastery’s own products from the herb garden and beekeeping are herbal teas, herbal infusion mixtures and honey.
The Benedictines also accept guests in a foresteria who want to get to know everyday life in the monastery and the daily routine.
literature
- A. Mazzetti / R. Monaco: Euganean Hills and Thermal Baths , Edizioni Turlon Montegrotto Terme 2006, p. 74 ff.
- Loris Fontana / Gaetano Croce: Praglia. Shape and image . Signum Edizioni, Padova 1982.
Web links
- Official website of the Benedictine Abbey Praglia (Italian)
- Film about the abbey and monastic life in Praglia
Coordinates: 45 ° 21 '48.3 " N , 11 ° 44' 6.4" E