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Nonantola Abbey, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, is a former 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 A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
and ''
prelature nullius A territorial prelate is, in Catholic usage, a prelate whose geographic jurisdiction, called territorial prelature, does not belong to any diocese and is considered a particular church. The territorial prelate is sometimes called a prelate ''nu ...
'' in the commune of
Nonantola Nonantola ( Modenese: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is in the Po Valley about from Modena on the road to Ferrara. History In ancient times the territory of Nonantola ...
, c. 10 km north-east of Modena, in the
Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both also ; ; egl, Emégglia-Rumâgna or ''Emîlia-Rumâgna''; rgn, Emélia-Rumâgna) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy, situated in the north of the country, comprising the historical regions ...
region of
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 ...
. The abbey church remains as a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
and is the co-cathedral of the diocese of Modena-Nonantola. Abbey of Nonantola


History

200px, Relief of Anselm founding the Abbey The abbey was founded in 752 by Saint Anselm, Duke of
Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...
and brother-in-law of the Lombard king
Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...
. The latter richly endowed the new abbey, starting its role as one of the main landed proprietors of northern Italy. Pope Stephen II appointed Anselm its first abbot, and presented some relics of Saint Sylvester to the abbey, named in consequence ''S. Silvestro de Nonantula''. After the death of Aistulf in 756, Anselm was banished to
Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...
by the new king,
Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...
, but was restored by
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 ...
after seven years. In 813 the abbot
Peter of Nonantola Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
was chosen as Imperial ambassador to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. His successor, Ansfrid, held the same post in 828. In 883 the abbey was chosen as the place of a conference between
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 ...
and
Pope Marinus I Pope Marinus I (; died 15 May 884) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 882 until his death. Controversially at the time, he was already a bishop when he became pope, and had served as papal legate to Constantinople. He was ...
. In 900 the monastery and church were completely destroyed by invading
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, and all who had not fled were killed. Reconstruction began almost immediately. Up to the 11th century Nonantola was an imperial monastery, and its discipline often suffered severely on account of imperial interference in the election of abbots: Nonantola was in fact one of the most powerful abbeys of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and control over it was considered a major issue by the emperors and popes. It had a famous
scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes an ...
and the abbot Godeschalc had a new
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
built in 1058. At the beginning of the
Investiture Conflict The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...
it sided with the emperor, until forced to submit to the pope by Matilda of Tuscany in 1083. It finally declared itself openly for the papal party in 1111. In that year the famous monk
Placidus of Nonantola Placidus is Latin for "placid, gentle, quiet, still, calm, mild, peaceful" and can refer to: *Flavius Arcadius Placidus Magnus Felix (480–511), Consul of Rome *Placidus de Titis (also de Titus, Latinization of Placido de Titi, 1603–1668), astr ...
wrote his ''De honore Ecclesiæ'', one of the most able and important defences of the papal position that was written during the Investiture Conflict. The decline of the monastery can be dated to 1419, when it came under the jurisdiction of
commendatory abbots A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is a ...
. In 1514 abbot Gian Matteo Sertorio gave it to the Cistercians, but the abbey continued to decline until it was suppressed by
Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...
in 1768. Alternatively it may have been replaced by Duke
Francesco III d'Este Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duchess Charlotte of Brunswick-L ...
in 1783, during the abbacy of Francesco Maria d'Este, with a collegiate foundation of canons. Pope Pius VII restored it as a monastery on 23 January 1821, with the provision that the prelature nullius attached to it should belong to the Archbishop of Modena, into which the exempt territory was finally absorbed in 1986 to form the
Diocese of Modena-Nonantola In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
. The monastery itself was appropriated by the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
government in 1866.


Buildings

The Town Hall of Nonantola is now accommodated in some of the remaining monastic buildings, in one of which 11th-century frescoes have been discovered. The Museo Benedettino Nonantolano e Diocesano di Arte Sacra ("The Benedictine Nonantolan and Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art") is also now housed in the premises, as are the important abbey archives and library.


Basilica

The ''Basilica'' is a Romanesque edifice built during the tenure of abbot Damian, which in the early 20th century was restored to its original early 12th-century condition. The church has a nave and two aisles, with the presbytery. The crypt, with sixty-four columns, dates from the 8th century and contains relics of seven saints: Saint Anselm the founder (d. 3 March 803); the virgins Saint Fusca and
Saint Anseris In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
; the martyrs Saints Theopontus and Senesius,Nonantola has the skulls; the remaining relics of Theopontus and Senesius are in the church of Radolfzell, where they were taken by Bishop Radolf of Verona from Saint Fusca's Abbey in
Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...
in 830
Saint Adrian III, and those of Saint Sylvester himself.


References


Sources

*
Nonantola Abbey Official website
*

* {{coord, 44.677999, N, 11.043524, E, source:dewiki_region:IT-MO_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 8th century Benedictine monasteries in Italy Cistercian monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic churches in Modena Burial places of popes 8th-century establishments in Italy Churches completed in 752 8th-century churches in Italy