Abbey of Sant'Antimo
The Abbey of Sant'Antimo is located about 1 km north of Castelnuovo dell'Abate (district of Montalcino ) and about ten kilometers south of the main town of Montalcino in the Tuscan province of Siena and is a canon of the Premonstratensian Canons.
history
The abbey was founded by Benedictines as early as the 8th century - according to legend, on the initiative of Charlemagne in gratitude for being saved from the plague - and expanded steadily in the following centuries.
Construction of the current church began in 1118. A year earlier, a huge earthquake had destroyed numerous buildings throughout northern Italy, which were then replaced on the old foundation walls. The apse and crypt of the churches were sometimes preserved.
The monastery quickly gained influence. From the 10th to the 12th centuries, the area of Montalcinos to the Maremma was ruled by the abbots of the monastery. As sovereigns and imperial officials at the same time, they also collected taxes, but despite this initial prosperity and the huge expenses for construction, Sant'Antimo never became as large as other Carolingian monasteries.
The decline began with the awakening striving for power in Siena , which in 1212 overtook Montalcino. In the course of the following decades, the monastery's ownership shrank to a fifth. The church was never fully completed in the following period, as the complex construction probably exceeded the abbey’s financial resources. One sign of the decline is, among other things, the unfinished facade.
Changed religious ideas were also decisive for the declining influence. At the expense of the Benedictines, the then new orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans , whose monasteries were not built in solitude, but on the outskirts of the cities, in order to be able to do justice to the preaching mandate, grew stronger . The Benedictine wish to be able to follow the rule of ora et labora in seclusion was pushed into the background.
The Benedictine monastery attached to the church was closed in 1462. Only repopulated from France in 1979 with Augustinian canons , who followed the example of the Premonstratensians , the monastery is now a popular meeting place for scouts , especially from Italy and France. Sant'Antimo recently became a canon of the Order of the Premonstratensian Canons.
Church building
The architecture of the mighty travertine church is closer to the monasteries in Burgundy than to the buildings of Tuscany or northern Italy. French role models can be seen in many places. The ambulatory with its wreath of chapels and the secluded location testify, for example, to the influence of the famous French monastery of Cluny . The strikingly similar church of Vignory in Champagne should also be mentioned.
Although Sant'Antimo was built shortly after the last church in Cluny (1088), little of the splendor there is to be found here. Instead, there is an almost Cistercian simplicity. Some Lombard elements are also striking - clearly recognizable on the tower, but also inside, where pilasters structure the walls and a transept is missing.
The narrow main nave impresses with its height of 20 meters. The steepness of the interior and the change of columns in a three-way rhythm are unusual in Tuscany. The mezzanine floor above the arcades is also extremely unusual by Italian standards . Italian churches from this period have no openings above the arcades, but a wide wall surface on which frescoes or mosaics could be attached.
The apse chapel also shows forms of structure from Northern Europe with the strong semi-columns in front of them on high plinths and with the console stones in the form of animal heads.
The capitals of the pillars of the main nave are decorated with ornaments. The famous capital of the second column on the right with the motif Daniel in the lions' den is of a different type . It is attributed to the Master of Cabestany , a sculptor from Languedoc , France . This depiction of Daniel in the lions' den was extremely common on capitals in the Christian Middle Ages and usually illustrates the power of faith against seemingly overpowering opponents.
The main portal dates from around 1250. Originally a double portal was planned, but the other half was used for the church of Santa Maria Assunta in San Quirico d'Orcia . A capital from the facade shows, like the lintel in San Quirico d'Orcia, a motif that belongs more to the German or French Romanesque. The lintel shows a symmetrical arrangement of hybrid creatures with an eagle's head and a lion's body. Mythical creatures (cf. San Quirico d'Orcia) can also be found on the adjacent fields of view - a mixture of a snake with wings and a crocodile or dog's head. The side stripes also show decorations that refer to German models. The side portal on the south side is particularly decorative, showing different shapes on both sides and in the lintel.
To the right of the choir is the so-called Carolingian Chapel, one of the few remains from the Wilhelminian era (8th century), clearly recognizable from the outside by the roughly hewn stone.
On the Campanile there is the most important external relief of Sant'Antimo, the "Madonna with the Evangelists" from the beginning of the 12th century, an archaic and strict composition from a time when the great phase of cathedral sculpture had already begun in Northern Europe - for example with the King portal of Chartres around 1145.
Wines
A wine that was classified as Sant'Antimo DOC in 1996 is named after the Abbey of Sant'Antimo . All red and white wines of the local winemakers are marketed under this name, but they do not only come from the area around the abbey, but with a few exclusions from the entire municipality of Montalcino.
gallery
Carolingian Chapel
crucifix
Construction of the central nave wall
Frescoes
Remnants of the cloister
Central nave
View into the chancel
Plays of light
crypt
literature
- Emanuele Repetti: ABAZIA DI S. ANTIMO. In: Dizionario Geografico Fisico Storico della Toscana (1833–1846), online edition of the University of Siena (pdf, Italian)
- Rolf Toman (ed.): The art of the Romanesque. Architecture - sculpture - painting. Cologne 1996, p. 101.
- Klaus Zimmermanns: Toscana (= DuMont art travel guide). 3. Edition. Cologne 1980, p. 346, figs. 90–95.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mario Ascheri et al. Vinicio Serino: Prima del Brunello. Montalcino Capitale Mancata. San Quirico d'Orcia 2007, p. 17
Coordinates: 43 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ N , 11 ° 30 ′ 54 ″ E