Novalesa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Novalesa) is a

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 ...

monastery in the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It was founded in 726, and dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

Novalesa Novalesa ( pms, Novalèisa, frp, Nonalésa, french: Novalaise) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km west of Turin, on the border with France. Novalesa borders ...

is in the

Val di Susa The Susa Valley ( it, Val di Susa; pms, Valsusa; french: Val de Suse; oc, Val d'Ors) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the sou ...

, on the route to the

Mont Cenis Pass , photo = Col du Mont Cenis.jpg , photo_caption = Lake at the pass , elevation_m = 2085 , elevation_ref = , traversed = Route nationale 6 , map = Alps , map_caption = Location of Col de Mont Cenis , map_size = , label = Col de Mont Ce ...

, and on the former

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

, a major pilgrimage road. The abbey is still in operation as an active Benedictine monastery.

History

The abbey was officially founded in a position commanding the

on 30 January 726, by a Frankish lord

Abbo of Provence Abbo was the Patrician of Provence in opposition to Maurontus in the 730s. He was also ''rector'' of Maurienne and Susa. Abbo came from the family of Waldelenus in the Besançon. They controlled the Alpine passes of Susa, Embrun, and Gap. A ...

, whose parchment deed of gift is still preserved in the State Archives of Turin. The founding monks, Benedictines, are thought to have come from the

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

region. It became an important monastery with

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

, who stayed there. The abbey enriched its possessions through donations and privileges from the Frankish rulers

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

and

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

, until its possessions reached the western

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

n mainland. In 817 it adopted the

Benedictine rule The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

The first phase of the abbey's history, abbot Eldrado's era, came to an end when it was destroyed by

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

raiders in 906. Most monks moved to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, while others moved to

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 ...

(in southern

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 ...

) where they founded the monastery of Breme. The abbey was rebuilt in the early 11th century by Gezo, abbot of Breme according to the

Chronicon Novaliciense The ''Chronicon Novaliciense'' (or ''Chronicle of Novalesa'') is a monastic chronicle which was written in the mid-eleventh century in the valley of Susa. The ''Chronicle of Novalesa'' was written, c.1050, by an anonymous monk at the monastery o ...

. In 1646 the Benedictines were replaced by

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 ...

monks, who remained here until 1796, when they were expelled by the Piedmontese provisional government. A third refoundation occurred after the monks of a hospital established by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

at the Mont Cenis (1802) moved back to Novalesa after the emperor's fall. However, they were again expelled in 1855 and the abbey's building auctioned under the laws of expropriation of the Piedmontese government. The complex was acquired by the

province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

in 1972 and was revived in 1973 with the return of the Benedictine monks, who still live there.

Description

The complex of Novalesa includes a monastic building proper, and the abbey church. Abbazia Novalesa 003

The abbey is accessed through a portal leading to a first court, with a three-span portico with

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

s, surmounted by a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

. There is another court around which the building revolves: at its center are the two remaining wings of the 16th century

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

: one has five and the other has seven round arcades, supported by cylindrical columns without capitals. At the crossing between the two cloister wings is the bell tower, built in 1725-1730, which stands at . The abbey church is dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul. It was built in the 18th century above the pre-existing Romanesque church from the 11th century, of which some frescoes, including the ''Stoning of St. Stephen'', remain. The current church is in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style and has a nave with

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

s. Half of the nave is used as presbytery, and ends in a semi-circular

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. The counterfaçade houses an organ, built in 1725.

Chapels in the monastery area

Around the monastery are four chapels: one dedicated to Mary (8th century, restored in the 11th century), one to the Holy Saviour (mid-11th century), one to St. Michael (8th-9th centuries) and one to St. Eldradus. The latter houses a fresco cycle from the late 11th century, depicting stories of the life of St. Eldradus and St. Nicholas. It's one of the first known Nicholas's frescoes in continental Europe. Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SEldrado.JPG, S.Eldrado's Chapel Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SMaria.JPG, S.Maria's Chapel Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SMaria interno.JPG, S.Maria's Chapel Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SMichele.JPG, S.Michele's Chapel Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SMichele 2.JPG, S.Michele' Chapel Image:Abbazia di Novalesa cappella SSalvatore.JPG, S.Salvatore's Chapel

Fresco cycle of St. Eldradus

Image:Novalesa_Cristo_Pantocratore.jpg, Christ Pantocrator Image:Novalesa_Santi_Eldrado_Nicola.jpg, St. Eldradus and St. Nicholas Image:Novalesa_Sant_Eldrado-1.jpg, Sant'Eldrado enter in the abbey Image:Novalesa_Sant_Eldrado-2.jpg, Life of St'Eldradus

Notes

Books

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 45.17968, N, 7.00845, E, source:frwiki_region:IT_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Benedictine monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Piedmont Carolingian architecture 8th-century establishments in Italy Churches completed in 726 8th-century churches in Italy