The Abbey of Valvisciolo
The Abbey of Valvisciolo is an example of rigorous Romanesque-Cistercian architecture, considered a masterpiece of that style in central Italy
According to tradition, the abbey was founded in the 8th century by Greek Basilian monks. Some sources state that it was established in 1145 by the monks of Cistercian order, by monks from the Abbey of Fossanova. Likely damaged during the 12th-century invasion of Barbarossa, it was occupied and restored by the Knights Templar in the 13th century, who after the dissolution of their order were replaced first briefly by Augustinians, then again by the Cistercians in 1312-15. The abbey had some turnover in the early 17th-century, but ultimately remained Cistercian. The monastery was dissolved in 1807 but was re-settled in 1864 and is still extant.
According to a medieval legend, when the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burnt at the stake in 1314, the church's architraves broke.
The Abbey of Valvisciolo
The Abbey of Valvisciolo is an example of rigorous Romanesque-Cistercian architecture, considered a masterpiece of that style in central Italy
According to tradition, the abbey was founded in the 8th century by Greek Basilian monks. Some sources state that it was established in 1145 by the monks of Cistercian order, by monks from the Abbey of Fossanova. Likely damaged during the 12th-century invasion of Barbarossa, it was occupied and restored by the Knights Templar in the 13th century, who after the dissolution of their order were replaced first briefly by Augustinians, then again by the Cistercians in 1312-15. The abbey had some turnover in the early 17th-century, but ultimately remained Cistercian. The monastery was dissolved in 1807 but was re-settled in 1864 and is still extant.
According to a medieval legend, when the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burnt at the stake in 1314, the church's architraves broke.