The Breviary of San Michele della Chiusa is a manuscript liturgical book of 1315 in two volumes: the "Santorale" and the "Temporale" for a total of 1390 pages.

History

It has been used for at least three centuries in the cycle of daily prayer at the

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Sacra di San Michele The Sacra di San Michele, sometimes known as Saint Michael's Abbey, is a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, situated on the south side of the Val di Susa in the territory of the municipality of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, in the Metropolitan Cit ...

After the dispersion of the library of the Sacra di San Michele, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the breviary was regained on the market by a wealthy donor who gave it to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of San Giovanni Vincenzo in Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, which has been responsible for its conservation ever since.

Studies and insights

In the last quarter of the twentieth century several scholars deepened specific studies on the Breviary of St. Michael, and in particular the works conducted by Costanza Segre Montel, Giacomo Baroffio and Gian Mario Pasquino who resumed the entire Latin text translating it into Italian and studying the Gregorian melodies. In 1995 the results of these works were published in the volume: ''Il Millennio Composito di San Michele della Chiusa''. In 1999, through a co-funded project, the breviary was digitized and proposed for dissemination through a multimedia support. The choir: "Coro Abbazia di Novalesa" began at the same time to study and sing the sacred melodies of the Breviary, spreading them to the public in numerous concerts over the years, and in the summer of 2015, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary released a music CD with 22 selected tracks of the Breviary of San Michele della Chiusa. In the year 2015 the 700th anniversary of the Breviary was celebrated, promoted by a special commission established at the parish of San Giovanni Vincenzo in

Sant'Ambrogio di Torino Sant'Ambrogio di Torino ( pms, Sant Ambreus) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about 25 km west of Turin in the Susa Valley. Sant'Ambrogio di Torino borders the ...

, which was a further opportunity to study and deepen the two texts of the Breviary and of the publications that have been written on the subject over time. A public exhibition for the 700th anniversary was held in June, July and September 2015, and on 14 November 2015 a study conference with European experts presented the latest studies on the Breviary of San Michele della Chiusa. At the conclusion of this cycle of events on 21 November 2015, the day of the liturgical feast of San Giovanni Vincenzo, the "Coro Abbazia di Novalesa" held at the Church of San Giovanni Vincenzo in

the official 700th anniversary concert, with a vast repertoire of Gregorian pieces taken from the two volumes of the Breviary.

References

{{Reflist San Michele 14th-century illuminated manuscripts 1310s books 1315 in Europe 1310s in the Holy Roman Empire 14th century in Italy

History

Studies and insights

See also

References