Monastery of San Salvatore di Monte Amiata

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The monastery of San Salvatore di Monte Amiata in Tuscany in Italy was probably built as a Benedictine monastery in the 8th century and passed to the Cistercian order in 1228 . It is located in the municipality of Abbadia San Salvatore in the province of Siena , at over 800  m slm and east of the 1784  m high Monte Amiata , on the former Via Francigena , which coincided with the Via Cassia .

Dedication page of the Codex Amiatinus

history

The foundation is said to have taken place no later than 762 by the Friulian Longobard Erfone. The legend states that the founding year was 743 and that the founder was the Longobard king Ratchis , the successor of King Liutprand . The abbey was given a large territory that is said to have extended all the way to the coast and was considered the richest abbey in the region in Benedictine times. The church was consecrated in 1035 in the presence of 18 bishops. Camaldolese followed the Benedictines . Probably with the support of Pope Gregory IX. Cistercians moved in in 1228 with a convent sent directly by the Cîteaux monastery . In 1247 the abbey occupied the monastery of San Pietro d'Acqua Orta, which, however, was not elevated to an independent abbey, but remained directly subordinate to the abbot of San Salvatore di Monte Amiata. In 1497 the abbey joined the Italian Cistercian Congregation. The church was changed under the Medici in 1590 ; the apses were removed. In the 17th century the discipline of the monastery decreased. In 1783 the monastery was closed by Grand Duke Leopold I of Tuscany and divided into apartments. The renovations from 1590 were partially removed in 1929. In 1939 a Cistercian priory was set up again, which in 1960 was able to acquire most of the complex again. A renovation took place from 1968 to 1971.

One of the treasures of the library was the Codex Amiatinus , a Bible manuscript produced in Northumbria at the beginning of the eighth century, which was originally intended as a gift for the Pope but did not reach Rome.

Plant and buildings

The church has a single nave and has a lower and narrower transept with a transverse rectangular transept as well as an apse with a barrel-vaulted front yoke and a double tower facade (the right tower is unfinished). The groin vaulted crypt with 36 monolith columns has largely retained its original appearance. The monastery buildings were to the left (north) of the church.

photos

  • Facade of the abbey

  • Central nave

  • Longobard crypt

  • Capitals

literature

  • Balduino Gustavo Bedini: Breve prospetto delle Abazie Cistercensi d'Italia. o. O. (Casamari), 1964, pp. 121-121.
  • Heinz Schomann: Art monuments in Italy: Tuscany. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1990, p. 379, ISBN 3-534-06894-7 .
  • Günter Bucher: The sacred architecture of Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries. DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne, 1987, pp. 193–194, ISBN 3-7701-1815-4 .
  • Klaus Zimmermanns: Tuscany. DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1980, p. 351, ISBN 3-7701-1050-1 .

Web links

Commons : San Salvatore di Monte Amiata  - Collection of images, videos and audio files