Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a
church that was formerly a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbey located near the railway-station of
Priverno in
Latina,
Italy, about south-east of
Rome.
History
Fossanova is one of the finest examples of early
Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following:
*Someone or something from Burgundy.
*Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...
Gothic architecture in Italy, dating to around 1135.
Consecrated in 1208 by monks of its
motherhouse of
Hautecombe
Hautecombe Abbey (french: Abbaye d'Hautecombe, ; la, Altaecumbaeum) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in Savoie, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the Hous ...
, it retains the bare architecture, the magnificent rose window and finely carved capitals, reflecting the prominent role within the area.
In July 1198 Eugenius, the master chamberlain of Apulia and Terra di Lavoro, was ordered by
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
and her son to transfer a land property from the imperial ownership to the Abbey of Fossanova. The property was located near
Aversa
Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...
and its extension was calculated by John Bassus, chamberlain of the Terra di Lavoro.
[ (PhD dissertation)]
A monk of Fossanova compiled the ''
Annales Ceccanenses'' down to 1218. Another historical source for the same temporal extension are the ''
Annales Ceccanenses''.
En route to the
Second Council of Lyon
:''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.''
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...
in 1274, the Dominican scholastic
Thomas Aquinas died in the abbey on 7 March.
In 1461
Pope Pius II signed a
bull returning to the abbey various properties which had been enstranged by the previous abbots. The estate list was compiled by
Rodrigo Borgia
Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
, nephew of
Pope Callixtus III, who was attempting to finance a naval expedition against Turks.
Since 1935 pastoral duties in the local abbey parish were entrusted to the care of Franciscan Friars Conventual (OFMConv.), until 2017. Since 2017, the pastoral care of the abbey and its parish have been entrusted to the fathers of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, with the help of the sisters from the same Religious Family, the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, who live in a convent at just a few kilometers.
Architecture
The frugal Gothic church is cruciform and square-ended,
[ similar to that of ]Casamari
Casamari Abbey is a Cistercian abbey in the Province of Frosinone, Lazio, Italy, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) east-south-east of Veroli.
It marks the site of Cereatae, the birthplace of Caius Marius, afterwards known, as inscriptions attest, as ...
and Cîteaux Abbey. The church is flanked on one side by the cloister, along with the refectory and chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
and on the other side by the cemetery.[ The nave at Fossanova dates from 1187 and the church was consecrated in 1208.
The other conventual buildings also are noteworthy. The hospital, guesthouse, gardens, and buildings related to the farm are all scattered throughout the walled enclosure.][ Buttresses are set against the walls but they are small and more like classical pilaster than flying buttress.
File:Fossanova Abbey fc02.jpg,
File:Fossanova Abbey fc03.jpg,
]
See also
*Hautecombe Abbey
Hautecombe Abbey (french: Abbaye d'Hautecombe, ; la, Altaecumbaeum) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in Savoie, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the H ...
* Italian Gothic architecture
References
External links
Fossanova Abbey website (it.)
* ttps://archive.today/20130624182020/http://www.comune.priverno.latina.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=168&lang=en Comune di Priverno: Abbazia di Fossanova (eng.)*
Cistercian monasteries in Italy
Monasteries in Lazio
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Gothic architecture in Lazio
Churches in the province of Latina
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