San Clemente al Volmano, also known as the Abbey of San Clemente is a Romanesque-style, former-

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 ...

church and monastery found in a rural site, on a hill above the Volmano River, in the frazione of Guardia Vomano of the town of

Notaresco Notaresco ( Teramano: '; Notareschino: ') is a town and ''comune'' in the Teramo province in the Abruzzo region of eastern central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Sout ...

, in provincia di Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy.

History

The abbey was founded by the Benedictines, putatively in 874. According to the Chronicon Casauriense (1182) is that while emperor Ludovico II himself commissioned the Casauria abbey after his release from the imprisonment by

Adelchis of Benevento {{Commons category, Adelchis of Benevento Adelchis (died May 878) was the son of Radelchis I, Prince of Benevento, and successor of his brother Radelgar in 854. It was given to Adelchis to preserve the ancient principality and its independenc ...

. Louis endowed that abbey with relics of the former Pope Clement I. Louis' mother

Ermengarde of Tours Ermengarde of Tours (- 20 Mar 851) was daughter of Hugh of Tours and Ava of Morvois. In October 821 in Thionville, Ermengarde married the Carolingian Emperor Lothair I of the Franks (795–855). Ermengarde used her bridal gift to found the abb ...

, who was taking shelter at the nearby castle of Guardia, also provided for the founding of this abbey. Other sources claim it was founded instead by Louis II's daughter,

Ermengard of Italy Ermengard of Italy, also ''Ermengarda'', ''Ermengarde'', or ''Irmingard'' (852/855 – 897) was a queen and regent of Provence. She was the second and only surviving daughter of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor. Life Born in around 852, she was the da ...

. In 911, a Saracen incursion destroyed both the Abbey of Casauria and San Clemente. Rebuilt, the monastery was again razed by the Normans in 1077. As usual after the arson of church in this age, the relics of St Clement were discovered under the pavement of the church at the time of Abbot Grimoaldo (1096), and this encouraged again rebuilding of the monastery. The portal of the church has a date of 1108 for this reconstruction. However, soon the monastery fell again into ruin. The adjacent convent has been in ruins since the 16th century. The layout of the church has three naves each ending with a semi-circular apse and supported by brick or stone pillars or columns. The presbytery interior is roofed by a sculpted 12th-century ciborium. In the nave on the right, a polychrome wooden bust represents Pope Saint Clement, whereas on the other side there are interesting remains of frescos. Outside, the stone portal and the façade’s archivolt are both carved in a Romanesque style.Tourism Office of Teramo
After a long restoration the abbey reopened in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemente al Volmano Monasteries in Abruzzo Churches in the province of Teramo 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Christian monasteries established in the 9th century Romanesque architecture in Abruzzo