Nonantola Abbey
| Nonantola Abbey | |
|---|---|
 Abbey Basilica |
|
| location |
 Italy
|
| Lies in the diocese | 8th century - 1820 independent exemte abbey, today integrated into the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola |
| Coordinates: | 44 ° 40 '40.8 " N , 11 ° 2' 36.7" E |
| Patronage | St. New Year I. |
| founding year | 752 by Benedictines |
| Cistercian since | 1514 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1797 |
The Abbey Nonantola (Latin Abbatia Sancti Silvestri de Nonantula or Abbatia Nonantulana ) is a former exemte abbey of the Benedictines and later the Cistercians in the city of Nonantola near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy.
history
The abbey was founded in 751/752 by Anselm , brother-in-law of the Lombard king Aistulf . As early as 756, the remains of Holy New Year I were buried there. In 780 the area of the Pieve di San Pietro a Gropina was donated to the abbey by Charlemagne , and monks of the abbey built the predecessor of the church that is still preserved there. The abbey was founded in 883 for a conference between Charles III. and Marinus I. used.
Around 877 the abbey was occupied by Adelard of Verona. During the devastation by the Hungarians in 889, buildings were destroyed and many of the library's writings were lost. In 907 the new church was consecrated, which was not the present basilica.
Emperor Otto I gave the abbey in 962 as a fief to Bishop Guido / Vitus of Modena , Arch Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, then to Bishop Hubert von Parma, also Arch Chancellor, in 1026 Emperor Conrad II lent the abbey to Archbishop Aribert of Milan . During this time the monastery itself was run by provosts. Not until 1044 were regular abbots resident again at the head of the abbey.
On January 4, 1058, the abbot Gotescalco / Gottschalk, who was in office from 1053 to 1059, issued something like a declaration of human rights for the farmers and other lay people living in the area of the monastery.
With the beginning of the investiture controversy, the monastery took the side of the emperor until it was forced by Mathilde von Canossa in 1083 to take the side of the pope. Around 1111, the monk Placidus of Nonantola wrote his Liber de Honore Ecclesiae (Book on the Honor of the Church), probably one of the most important writings that emerged during the investiture dispute.
Gian Galeazzo Pepoli, the last regular Benedictine abbot, died in 1449. He was followed by commendate abbots , including the later Pope Julius II and Carlo Borromeo . In 1514 the monastery passed to the Cistercian order . A reform by Giovanni Francesco Bonhomini , the Bishop of Vercelli, and the establishment of a seminary at the monastery could not stop the decline. In 1797 the abbey was abolished, but restored by Pope Pius VII in 1815 as Abbatia nullius (Private Abbey) and in 1820 it was linked to the Diocese of Modena . From 1866 the Italian government took over the Nonantola monastery. It was not until 1926 that the coming ones were abolished and the respective Archbishop of Modena was now also Abbot Ordinary of Nonantola. In 1928 the abbey church was elevated to a papal minor basilica . In 1986 the abbey was permanently united by name with the renamed Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola .
architecture
The abbey itself is in the city center. The earlier medieval building consisted of several oratorios . A larger church was built in the 10th – 11th centuries. Century in the Carolingian style. It was not until the 12th century that a monastery was expanded. Today's Romanesque brick basilica was built from the early 11th century - in 1013 Abbot Rodolfo ordered the portal. An earthquake damaged the abbey in 1117. A horizontal beam with the inscription 1117 indicates the reconstruction of the church. Thus, the current shape of the abbey and its church can be seen as an expression of the early 11th or early 12th century.
The facade, decorated with columns , pilaster strips and half-columns , is a classic example of northern Italian brick architecture. Similar towerless basilicas north of the Alps, such as Sorø Monastery in Denmark and Lehnin Monastery in the Mark Brandenburg, testify to the exemplary effect of this architecture.
In the 15th century a loggia was built with arches on the ground floor and decorated terracotta columns on the upper floor. The abbey's antiquarium is now housed there.
Facilities
altar
The sarcophagus of St. New Year's Eve has served as a high altar since its restoration in 1913-17. There are also eight marble slabs on the altar showing episodes from the life of Pope Silvester I. These marble slabs were made by Jacopo Silla de Longhi between 1568 and 1572. On the altar is the urn of Pope Silvester I.
crypt
The abbey's crypt has existed since the 10th or 11th century. The vault is supported by 64 columns and 20 terracotta half-columns. Each capital is provided with decorative elements. From 15th to 16th In the 19th century it was closed for prayer purposes and restored from 1913 to 1917. Furthermore, there are the remains of Saint Anselm, Pope Hadrian III. , Senesius , Theopompus , Fosca and Anseride in the crypt.
literature
- Korbinian Birnbacher : Art. Nonantola , in: LThK , 3rd ed., Vol. 7, Sp. 897.
Web links
- Abbazia Nonantola - Museo Benedettino e Diocesano di Arte Sacra
- Publications on Nonantola in the Opac of the Regesta Imperii
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Nonantola
- Entry Private Abbey Nonatola on catholic-hierarchy.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.abbazianonantola.it/abbazia-nei-secoli - with a detailed description of the political and library history; at the end a time table, CRONOLOGIA ESSENZIALE