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The monastery of Santa Maria Teodote, also known as Santa Maria della Pusterla, was one of the oldest and most important female monasteries in
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
,
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, now Italy. Founded in the seventh century, it stood in the place where the diocesan
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
is located and was suppressed in the eighteenth century.


History

It was founded in the seventh century, during the reign of the Lombard king
Cunipert Cunincpert (also Cunibert or Cunipert) was king of the Lombards from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 680. Life Soon after his assumption of the sole kingship, Cunincpert was ousted by ...
between 679 and 700 by the noble Gregorius and housed a chapel (or oratory) dedicated to Saint Michael (demolished in 1867, whose remains were object of an archaeological investigation in the 1970s). From the Lombard oratory, lost like the entire early medieval complex, come the
Plutei of Theodota The Plutei of Theodota are two mid 8th-century Lombard marble bas-reliefs or plutei from the oratory of San Michele alla Pusterla in Italy. Lida Capo, 'Commento' in Paolo Diacono, ''Storia dei Longobardi'', pp. 556-557. They are now held in the C ...
(now preserved in the
Pavia Civic Museums The Civic Museums of Pavia (Musei Civici di Pavia) are a number of museums in Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy. They are housed in the Castello Visconteo, or Visconti Castle, built in 1360 by Galeazzo II Visconti, soon after taking the city, a ...
), among the highest specimens of Lombard sculpture to have survived to this day. The monastery was called "della Pusterla" due to the proximity of a small city gate or "di Theodota" because it hosted
Theodota Theodota (also spelled Teodote or Theodote) was a Byzantine noblewoman, most notable for her association with the Lombard king Cunipert (688-700). The Plutei of Theodota are named after her. A biography of her appears in Book 5 of Paul the Deacon ...
. The monastery received numerous imperial donations and diplomas confirming its possessions from the emperors
Lothair I Lothair I or Lothar I (Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bavar ...
(833, 834, 839, 841),
Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
(871),
Carloman of Bavaria Carloman (german: Karlmann, la, Karlomannus; c. 830 – 22 March 880) was a Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty. He was the eldest son of Louis the German, king of East Francia, and Hemma, daughter of a Bavarian count. His father appointed ...
(876),
Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...
(880), Arnulf of Carinthia (895) ,
Louis the Blind Louis the Blind ( 880 – 5 June 928) was the king of Provence from 11 January 887, King of Italy from 12 October 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. His father was a Bosonid and his mother was a Carolingia ...
(901), Berengar I,
Hugh of Italy Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...
,
Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
,
Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...
, Henry II and
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
. In the imperial diploma of
Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...
of 1 August 996 it appears that the monastery owned lands in
Lomellina The Lomellina (Western Lombard: Ümlína/Lümelína) is a geographical and historical area in the Po Valley of northern Italy, located in south-western Lombardy between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers. It is one of three areal divisions of the ...
and fishing rights on the Po. In the 12th-13th centuries the main properties of the monastery were concentrated in
Fidenza Fidenza ( Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its Roman name of ''Fidentia''; before, it was cal ...
(about 550 hectares), around
Voghera The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera ( Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy. The population was 39,374 ...
(about 150 hectares) and
Zenevredo Zenevredo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southeast of Milan and about 20 km southeast of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 459 and an area o ...
, a place where the monastery held stately rights and majority shares in the local castle. The monastery, which became an abbey and welcomed the
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
reform towards the ninth century as for the others, in 1473 was joined to the
Cassinese Congregation The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within the Benedictine Confederation. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietro ...
. In 1778, 43 nuns lived there, but in 1799, like the other great monasteries of the city, it was suppressed by the institutions of the
Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized t ...
and its assets confiscated, while the archive of the institution was deposited with the State Archives of Milan. Unlike the other monasteries, however, it soon returned to a religious use, as in 1868 the episcopal seminary, which still has its seat there, was located there. Musei civici (Pavia)28.jpg,
Plutei of Theodota The Plutei of Theodota are two mid 8th-century Lombard marble bas-reliefs or plutei from the oratory of San Michele alla Pusterla in Italy. Lida Capo, 'Commento' in Paolo Diacono, ''Storia dei Longobardi'', pp. 556-557. They are now held in the C ...
with peacocks from the oratory of San Michele alla Pusterla, early 8th century,
Pavia Civic Museums The Civic Museums of Pavia (Musei Civici di Pavia) are a number of museums in Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy. They are housed in the Castello Visconteo, or Visconti Castle, built in 1360 by Galeazzo II Visconti, soon after taking the city, a ...
. Seminario3.jpg, The Renaissance cloister. Santa maria tedote2.jpg, Remains of the Lombard bell tower incorporated in the Renaissance cloister. Santa maria teodote.jpg, The interior of the church. Pavia, San Salvatore in Santa Maria Teodote.jpg, The Chapel of San Salvatore. San michele pusterla.jpg, The remains of the oratory of San Michele alla Pusterla of the Lombard age brought to light during the excavations of 1970 and now buried again.


Architecture

The monastery was almost entirely rebuilt in the fifteenth century in
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
and
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
forms and of the previous Lombard age complex, only some elements incorporated in subsequent constructions remain. Inside, the large fifteenth-century cloister with slender arches full of breath, supported by marble columns, is preserved. The ferrules of the southern arches are covered with terracotta tiles bearing figures of cherubs, perhaps made to a design by
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo 260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral 260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer. Biography Amadeo was born in ...
. Between one arch and another, busts of praying monks stand out in rounds on a shell-like background. On the western side of the cloister it looks like a gothic portal in terracotta with very rich friezes depicting cherubs and bunches of grapes inserted in a foliage motif. Under the portico on the south side there is a fresco by Bernardino de 'Rossi signed and dated to 1491, while the eastern façade preserves other fifteenth-century frescoes. On the upper floor of the south side there is a fourteenth-century loggia. Traces of frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries have appeared on the other sides, which also cover arches and sub-arches. In the northern part of the cloister you can see, inserted in the masonry, the remains of the massive bell tower (dating back to the Lombard age) of the oratory of San Michele alla Pusterla, characterized (in the surviving portion) by decorations with brick crosses in relief. The east side of the cloister gives access to the small church of the Savior, also from the 15th century, with a Greek cross, with central and corner domes, covered like the walls with frescoes by
Bernardino Lanzani Bernardino Lanzani (1460-c. 1530) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Pavia and Bobbio. He is also known as ''Bernardino Colombano'' since he was born in San Colombano al Lambro. He was a pupil of Ambrogio da Fossano. He ...
. The name of the designer of the small church of the Savior is not known, certainly it must have been an architect influenced by the stylistic innovations introduced in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
by
Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...
in the eighties of the fifteenth century, as can be seen from the central plan of the building. The chapel, with five domes, a typically
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
detail, perhaps influenced by the institution's dependence on the Paduan congregation, is articulated around four columns, while below, there is a crypt that reproduces the same plant. The chapel is almost entirely decorated with frescoes made between 1506 and 1507 by
Bernardino Lanzani Bernardino Lanzani (1460-c. 1530) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Pavia and Bobbio. He is also known as ''Bernardino Colombano'' since he was born in San Colombano al Lambro. He was a pupil of Ambrogio da Fossano. He ...
and his pupils. Originally, the building probably housed the large crucifix in silver foil, commissioned between 963 and 965 by the Abbess Raingarda and now preserved in the left transept of the basilica of San Michele. The main church of the monastery, formerly dedicated to the Virgin and now to Saint Andrew, was rebuilt in 1604, and is adorned with frescoes and stuccos. The fresco on the right as you enter is the work of Luigi Scaramuccia from
Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
, and represents the Crucifix among a group of nuns. The fresco opposite, with Theodota presenting the model of the church in Saint Benedict, is by
Filippo Abbiati Filippo Abbiati (1640–1715) was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque period, active in Lombardy and Turin, together with Andrea Lanzani and Stefano Maria Legnani, he was a prominent mannerist painters from the School of Lombardy. Born in ...
. The frescoes on the vault are also valuable.


References

{{portal bar, Catholicism, Italy Lombard architecture Renaissance architecture in Lombardy