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Historical Report Abbey

The document provides a historical overview of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano, located in the Sabina region of Italy, detailing its construction phases, architectural features, and historical significance. Initially believed to be commissioned by Charlemagne in the 9th century, evidence suggests it was built in the 11th century, with various restorations and transformations over the centuries. The abbey has faced periods of neglect and restoration, with its current state being one of abandonment despite some recent efforts to consolidate and restore the site.

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56 views11 pages

Historical Report Abbey

The document provides a historical overview of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano, located in the Sabina region of Italy, detailing its construction phases, architectural features, and historical significance. Initially believed to be commissioned by Charlemagne in the 9th century, evidence suggests it was built in the 11th century, with various restorations and transformations over the centuries. The abbey has faced periods of neglect and restoration, with its current state being one of abandonment despite some recent efforts to consolidate and restore the site.

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ua
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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History of Santa Maria del Piano

Index

1.
The Sabina territories

2.
Construction phases

3.
The site

4.
Bibliography
1.
The Sabina territories

Sabina is a historical-geographical region in central Italy, locat-


ed between Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo, inhabited in pre-Roman
times by the Sabines, an Indo-European population.

It is a territory of about 1600 km2, mostly mountainous but not


very high. The central group is made up of the Sabine Mountains,
formed essentially of marly limestone, part of the westernmost
band of the Abruzzi Apennines.

It includes about sixty municipalities, mostly in the province of


Rieti (called Bassa S.) and the rest in the province of Rome (called
Alta S.). Alta and Bassa Sabina have distinctly different demo-
graphic and economic characteristics. The former is largely agri-
cultural, with few processing activities, located almost exclusively
in and around Rieti. In Bassa S., on the other hand, the proximity
of Rome has induced more remunerative activities, so that the
inhabitants have not tended to emigrate;

The Abbey of Santa Maria in Piano is located in the province of Ri-


eti. Today it is owned by the State, but until the 1970s it belonged
to the Municipality of Orvinio, although administratively the area
falls within the municipality of Pozzaglia Sabina. In ancient times,
various disputes arose between the inhabitants of these two towns
over the ownership of the abbey and its lands.
2.
Construction phases

Legend has it, as passed down by nineteenth-century sources, that


the construction of the church dates back to the 9th century AD
and was commissioned by Emperor Charlemagne to commemorate
a victorious battle against the Lombards or the Saracens during
his journey to Rome. However, scholars unanimously dismiss this
claim due to lack of evidence.

Archaeological analysis suggests that the construction of the abbey


actually occurred between the mid to late 11th century. The mason-
ry techniques, materials, and decorative motifs align with building
practices of that era in the region. Additionally, there are deco-
rative fragments from the 10th century and Roman-era elements
incorporated into the structure. Scholars speculate that there may
have been a pre-existing ecclesiastical building on the site and
possibly even a Roman-era structure. Notably, the positioning of
the apse on a slope suggests the reuse of existing foundation struc-
tures.

The earliest documented mentions of the monastery, referring to


it as Santa Maria de Putealia, date back to 1026 and 1062. Later
references in a papal bull from 1217 confirm the abbey’s spiritual
and administrative significance. Restoration works, likely on
the facade, occurred around 1219, as indicated by an inscription.
Throughout the 14th century, the abbey flourished, as evidenced
by various documents and apostolic visits. Masses and processions
continued into the 15th century, during which the main portal of
the facade was replaced.

In 1809, Pius VII suppressed the monastery, transferring its


administration to the Napoleonic domain and its revenues to the
new diocese of Poggio Mirteto. Despite this, the church remained
in good condition until 1855, when it was temporarily converted
into a cemetery due to a cholera epidemic. The removal of doors
and demolition of the roof and floor during this time accelerated
its decay.
The collapse of the facade in 1952, caused by earthquakes and the
exhumation of corpses in 1949, prompted substantial restoration
efforts from 1953 to 1957. However, the complex was once again
abandoned and subjected to theft of decorative elements in the
1970s and 1980s, including the rose window, internal capitals, and
sculptural decorations.
Further consolidation and restoration work took place in 2015 and
2016, but the complex remains abandoned.

View of the church in 1911 (photo by Prof. Lorenzo Fiocca)


3.
The site

The church

The church, which has been remodelled and restored several times,
has a Latin cross plan and a single nave, once roofed, a semicir-
cular raised apse, a transept, formerly with cross vaults and a bell
tower.
The nave was separated from the transept by four large arches
with slightly lowered arches and squared ashlars, resting on squat
half-columns with slight entasis and with capitals of different
shapes, probably from reused material. As the analysis of the wall
structures shows, the church has undergone considerable transfor-
mations over time.
A certain restoration was carried out by the presbyter Bart-
holomew in 1219, as attested by an inscription in two tiles located
under the hanging arches of the façade. The rose window on the
façade, stolen in 1979, dates back to that time.
Later, following a collapse, the façade was rebuilt, lower, using the
original elements. A further collapse occurred in 1953, following
which restoration work was carried out.
The gabled façade belongs to the 11th century and shows architec-
tural and ornamental features similar to those of the Church of St.
Victoria, as well as 15th-century additions (in the portal).

The bell tower

The bell tower is square, with a height of about 20 metres. A thin


cornice divides it into a lower area with no openings, and an upper
area with four rows of windows in the usual sequence of single-lan-
cet, double-lancet and two floors of triple-lancet windows.
Internally, there were wooden floors and stairs, as evidenced by
the holes for the passage of beams in the masonry, and access was
only from the upper floors of the monastery on the north side
towards the church.
The convent

The convent, sections of whose walls remain today, was in close


connection with the bell tower, for which it was the only access
route.
In the past, it must have been of great importance considering the
numerous possessions to which it belonged.
In the 15th century we know it was ruled by an abbot subject to the
power of the bishop, but authorised to collect tithes, in the 18th
century it was inhabited by a friar of the Hermit order. In the 19th
century, the decline of the convent began.

1. The church
2. The bell tower
3. The convent

General plan of the complex in 1911 (survey by Prof. Lorenzo Fiocca)


4.
Bibliography

Books and essays

MONTAGNI C., PESSA L., Le chiese romaniche della Sabina, Genova,


1983, pp. 147-162

BATTISTI F., LEGGIO T., SAREGO L., Itinerari Sabini, D.E.U.I.,


1995

D’ACHILLE A.M., FERRI A., IAZEOLLA T., La Sabina – Luoghi


fortificati monasteri e abazzie, Milano, 1985

Articles

DEL VESCOVO A., L’Abbazia di Santa Maria del Piano a Orvinio,


in Aequa: indagini storico-culturali sul territorio degli Equi, A.7, n. 22,
2005, pp. 40-42

FIOCCA L., Chiesa e Abbazia di Santa Maria del Piano in Orvinio,


in Bollettino dell’arte, XI, 1911, pp. 405-418

SCIPIONI T., La chiesa abbaziale di S. Maria del Piano: donato allo


Stato dal Comune di Orvinio, in Lazio ieri e oggi: rivista mensile di
cultura regionale, 6, 1970, pp. 120-121

VIAN S., L’abbazia di Santa Maria del Piano presso Orvinio (RI):
note per una rilettura archeologica, in Temporis Signa: archeologia
della tarda antichità e del Medioevo, vol. II, 2007, pp. 243-258
www.reuseitaly.com

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