The Abbey of San Cassiano is a former
Benedictine monastery, located on Monte Santa Croce, outside of the town of
Narni in the
Province of Terni, in the
Region of Umbria in Italy.
History
Documentary evidence dates the monastery in 1091 falling under the governance of the
Abbey of Farfa
Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in t ...
in
Lazio. However, epigraphs at the site point to an earlier foundation. One sarcophagus notes the 10th-century discovery during the reign of
Crescentius I
Crescentius the Elder (died 7 July 984) was a politician and aristocrat in Rome who played a part in the papal appointment.
Family
With the disappearance of the Carolingian dynasty the papal government of Rome lost its most powerful protector, ...
(a near relative of
Pope John XIII
Pope John XIII ( la, Ioannes XIII; died 6 September 972) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 October 965 to his death. His pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between the Holy Roman emperor, Otto I, and t ...
) of relics of the Blessed Orso, a local monk. It is possible that an abbey at the site dates to the occupation of Italy by the Byzantine general
Belisarius in the 6th century.
By the 15th century, the abbey was surrounded by defensive walls. Ownership was disputed between Benedictine abbots and the bishops of Narni. By the 19th century, the abbey was abandoned, and nearly a ruined shell, when it passed to private hands in 1849. Spolia from other structures were used in its construction.
In 1960, it was appropriated by the Italian government. Restored in 1963–1970, it still remains closed. The
Romanesque architecture stone church with belltower was stripped of Baroque accretions during the latest restoration. The church has a Greek-cross layout.
[Key to Umbria.]
See also
*
Catholic Church in Italy
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassiano
11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Churches in Narni
Roman Catholic churches in Umbria
Romanesque architecture in Umbria
Monasteries in Umbria
1091 establishments in Europe
11th-century establishments in Italy
19th-century disestablishments in Italy
1960s establishments in Italy