Santa Maria della Matina was a monastery near
San Marco Argentano San Marco Argentano is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
Main sights include the Norman tower, several churches and the ruins of an abbey, Santa Maria della Matina.
San Marco Argentano w ...
in
Calabria. It was originally
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 ...
, but later became
Cistercian.
In 1065, at the urging of
Pope Nicholas II, a monastery was founded at Matina by
Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia and Calabria, and his wife,
Sichelgaita Sikelgaita (also ''Sichelgaita'' or ''Sigelgaita'') (1040 – 16 April 1090) was a Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. She commanded troops in her own right.
Life
S ...
. On 31 March, by order of Nicholas' successor,
Alexander II, the monastery was dedicated in a ceremony officiated by Archbishop
Arnulf of Cosenza, with the bishops
Odo of Rapolla and
Lawrence of Malvito in attendance, before Robert and Sichelgaita and the first abbot, Abelard. The monastery received rich gifts from its Norman patrons, but also a large piece land from the
diocese of Malvito, for which the bishop was compensated in gold. In 1660, Gregorio de Laude, abbot of
Santa Maria del Sagittario, who had seen the now lost parchments of the foundation himself, described it thus:
Monasterium Matinae a Robert Nortmando Apuliae et Calabriae Duce, uxoreque sua Sirlegatta anno 1066 'sic''fundatum, tunc Nigrorum, modo Cisterciensium Monachorum Casamaris filiationis situm in Calabria, duobus dissitum milliariis a ... Sancti Marci Urbe.
Robert the Norman, duke of Apulia and Calabria, and his wife Sichelgaita, founded the monastery of Matina in 1066, then Benedictine, now Cistercian, a daughter of the monks of Casamari in Calabria, two miles removed from ... San Marco.
The monastery was under the direct ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Papacy. As such, it appears in the earliest redaction of the ''
Liber censuum
The ''Liber Censuum Romanæ Ecclesiæ'' (Latin for "Census Book of the Roman Church"; also referred to as the Codex of Cencius)Gregorovius, 1896, p. 645. is an eighteen-volume (originally) financial record of the real estate revenues of the papac ...
'' of the early twelfth century. On 18 November 1092,
Pope Urban II visited the monastery. In 1167, the Frenchman
William of Blois became abbot, but resigned his position by 1169. By this time, the monastery was in decline.
Joachim of Fiore
Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to th ...
refused the request of King
Tancred of Sicily
Tancred ( it, Tancredi; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count o ...
to move his new religious foundation at
Fiore to Matina.
There has long been speculation that Matina became Cistercian in 1179 or 1180. This is contradicted by documents in the archive of the
Aldobrandini family
The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican.
History
Their ...
. In October 1221, upon request of the abbot of
Sambucina and with the permission of
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...
and the bishops
Andrew of San Marco Argentano and
Luke of Cosenza, Matina finally became a Cistercian abbey dependent on Sambucina. In February 1222, the act received the consent of the
Emperor Frederick II, and in June 1222 was confirmed by the pope. In 1235, the
abbot of Casamari requested permission from the general chapter to send the monks to Sambucina for three months every summer on account of the climate.
From 1410, the monastery was usually given ''
in commendam'', causing further decline. In 1633, it joined the Cistercian congregation of Calabria and Basilicata. In 1652, the monastery was finally suppressed by
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...
, but the commandery remained until the abolition of feudalism in 1809, during the reign of
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
, when the land became state property. Subsequently the buildings and grounds were granted to General Luigi Valentoni, who transformed it into a farm. The property remained in his family until the end of the twentieth century.
In the seventeenth century, most of the abbey buildings, which dated to the thirteenth century,
[White (1935), 490.] were still intact. Currently only ruins remain of the church. Among the best preserved parts are the parlour, the scriptorium, the staircase leading to the upper floors and chapel, and the Gothic chapter house, which has three naves with vaulted ceilings reminiscent of the abbey of Casamari.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Maria della Matina
13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
1065 establishments in Europe
11th-century establishments in Italy
Christian monasteries established in the 11th century
Maria della Matina