SANTA MARÍA DE FARFA

Built in an area already populated in prehistoric times, the municipality of Fara in Sabinia rises on the hill of the same name, following a probably Lombard foundation. Its territory is crossed by the Farfa River from which the abbey took its name. According to legend, it was built between 560 and 570 by Saint Lawrence the Illuminator in a pagan place: devastated by the Lombards, it was rebuilt by Tommaso da Moriana (in fact, the first abbot according to the Regestum Farfense) after a miraculous vision in 680 and , protected by the Duke of Spoleto Faroaldo II and then by the Carolingians, experienced rapid expansion, despite the Saracen sacking of 898, which led it to accumulate a vast heritage. Once the Cluniac reform was adopted at the beginning of the year 1000, the monastery was always close to the emperors until the Concordat of Worms (1122): its decline began in the following era until it was entrusted to the commandery, during which, in In 1567 he entered the Cassino congregation of Santa Giustina but in the following two centuries the crisis continued and culminated in the suppression of 1861.

Some monks, however, remained as custodians and to them Count Volpi gave the part of the building that came into his possession: this allowed the rebirth of religious life from 1920, thanks to the initiative of the future bishop of Milan Ildefonso Schuster, He sent a group of monks.

The current monastery still preserves remains from the Carolingian and medieval times, in particular the base of the bell tower (where frescoes from the period were found) and the perimeter wall with its characteristic pilasters, as well as other findings visible inside the monastery: among them , the plaque relating to Abbot Sicardo (832-847) found in 1959 in the church, which was still in use. The rest of the bell tower is from a later period, although it preserves vestiges of the western works typical of the central territories of the empire, which demonstrates the connection of the monastery with the German sovereigns.

The abbey church through which the complex is accessed dates back to the 15th century: the façade has projections and a portal in the center, above which you can admire a fresco that represents the Virgin with the Child between Saints Benedict and Scholastica. The interior of the church has a Latin cross structure with three naves divided by semicircular arches. The counterfaçade is entirely covered by the fresco of the Last Judgment painted by Dirck Barends in 1561. In the polygonal apse is the wooden monastic choir, also in baroque style like the rest of the church, while the main altar is located in front in the apse, at the end of the transept, and is topped by a ciborium at the top of which you can admire the bas-relief of the Assumption of Mary. The notable pipe organ was built in 1927. Inside the building there are paintings attributable to the Zuccari brothers, to Orazio Gentileschi and his workshop, to Hendrik van der Broek (16th-early 17th century).

From the abbey church you enter the monastery: at the end of the corridor is the refectory with frescoes by Vincenzo Manenti (17th century), then there is the chapter house, illustrated with paintings by Francesco Veròla whose studio is located in the same town of Farfa. .

In addition to the small Lombard cloister, the monastery contains the large cloister built in the 17th century, from where you can see the entrance to the crypt of the medieval basilica. From there you can access the Library, elevated to a state institution in 1964, in whose exhibition room some of the precious manuscripts preserved here are displayed. Finally, in the rooms of the monastic museum there are, among other things, 12 scenes and other illustrations taken from the Chronicon Farfense by Gregorio da Catino, one of the main personalities who lived in the monastery (12th century), exemplified by the Genoese ensemble. designer and illustrator Emanuele Luzzati.

Roberto Belllini for URBS REGIA

– Umberto Longo, ‘voce’ Gregorio da Catino, «Dizionario biografico degli italiani», 59 (2002), coll. 254-259.
– Farfa abbazia imperiale. Atti del Convegno internazionale (Farfa – Santa Vittoria in Matenano, 23-29 agosto 2003). A cura di Rolando Dondarini, Negarine di San Pietro in Cariano, 2006.
– Susan Boynton, Shaping a monastic identity. Liturgy and history at the imperial abbey of Farfa, 1000-1125, Ithaca-London, 2006.
– Anselmo Lipari, Il beato Placido Riccardi. Monaco e profeta di Dio, Palermo 2008.
– Spazi della preghiera, spazi della bellezza. Il complesso abbaziale di Santa Maria di Farfa. A cura di Isabella Del Frate, Roma, 2015.

Abbazia Benedettina di Santa Maria di Farfa