abbeys and Sanctuaries of Sabina
the most beautiful abbeys and sanctuaries of Sabina
The Abbey of Farfa
Fara in Sabina, via del Monastero 1
Deep in the heart of Sabine countryside, at only forty kilometres from Rome, the splendid see of the Benedictine Community of Farfa is an oasis of peace and spirituality. The Abbey of Farfa, declared a National Monument in 1928, is situated on the bottom slop of Mount Acuziano, surrounded by tick green forests and olive groves. It seems as if the magnificent Sabine countryside is there to act as a natural cornice to this important historical, artistic and cultural jewel that has witnessed the towing and frowning of over fifteen centuries of history. The monastery and the little village that huddles around its walls have a charm of their own.
The Abbey received the appellative "Imperial" directly from the hands of Charlemagne, the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He granted it, with two Diplomas of Immunity the title of "Fedelissima" - the most faithful. It became one of the most powerful and influential religious centres in Europe. In the centuries immediately after the Carolingian era the Abbey grew in importance, both spiritually and materially. Its holdings extended through central Italy and beyond and it often found itself in open contrast with the Holy See itself.
Preserved in the Abbey today are large tracts of the original medieval buildings, traces of the work of its famous scriptorium, works of art and pictorial cycles of its past, the crypt with a very well preserved Roman sarcophagus that was found in the grounds. The small museum has an audio visual layout created by a famous Italian set designer Emanuele Luzzati. The Abbey offers today's visitor the possibility of experiencing life inside a monastery. Its shop has for sale herbalist products from Benedictine monasteries throughout the world.
A guide tour will conduct the visitor to the most suggestive corners of the Abbey; the tour will include the Basilica of Santa Maria, the antique Torre Campanaria, and the Library where the precious collection of manuscripts and incunables are on show, the cloister and the archaeological museum where the most significant periods of its existences are reconstructed.
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Visit the Abbey of Farfa
Visiting time:
Winter time: 10 - 11 - 12am - 3 - 4pm
Summer Time: 10-11-12am -3:30 - 4:30 pm
It is recommended to reserve a visit to the avvey
How to reach
Fara in Sabina
Via del Monastero, 1
Contacts
0765 277065
Link Utili
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 Sanctuary of Vescovio |
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The Sanctuary of Vescovio
Torri in Sabina, locality of Santcuary of Vescovio
The Sanctuary of Vescovio is one of the most important of Sabina's monuments, it is located in an area where once used to stand the Roman Municipality of Forum Novum.
The first references to Santa Maria di Vescovio, the Cathedral of the Sabine till 1495, when the Diocesan Headquarters was moved to Magliano Sabina, date back to the VIII century. It was devastated by the Saracens in the IX century; it has since been rebuilt and restored a number of times. What the visitors sees today is a church that has preserved intact its XII century Romanic characteristics.
Of great beauty is the Torre Campanaria - the bell tower, with its five tiers of windows that was erected after the church was completed, using as masonry fragments of marble plaques and sculptures recovered on the spot.
The interior has only one nave decorated with thirteen century frescos of the school of the Roman painter Cavallini; they represent scenes of the New and Old Testaments.
Two passages, situated in the presbytery give access to the semicircular XI century crypt situated below the altar. It was built on a previous church which in its turn had been built on a Roman house.
On a little hill not far off are the remains of a convent built to house the monks supposedly looking after the church at the times of Pope Clement VIII, towards the end of the XVI century.
The Sabine historian Renzo Di Mario, in his "Ritratti Sabini" mentions the fact that St. Peter lived in Sabina for a short while, precisely at Forum Novum. According to tradition he came to testify the Words of Christ and was a guest of the Ursaci family. It is believed that he celebrated the ceremony of Fractio Panis, as the Holy Eucharistic was known in the house below where the crypt is now located.
San Pietro in Vescovio
The legend of St. Peter in Sabina stems from a manuscript dated to 1431, known as the "Manoscritto di Cerchiara" which refers back to a lost document dating to 554 that apparently bore the Latin phrase : "Primus temporibus B Apostolus Petrus, in intimam domum Ursaciorum fundavit ecclesiam foranovianam".
How to reach
Torri in Sabina
Locality of Santuario di Vescovio
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Sanctuary of Santa Vittoria
Monteleone Sabino, Piazza XXIV Aprile 1944
Visiting:+39 0765 884016
According to the Passio of Anatolia and Vittoria, two Roman virgin martyrs, who refused to marry two young patrician men because they wished to consecrate their lives to God. The two rejected men, with the permission of the Emperor exiled the young women to their estates in Sabina; Vittoria to the town of Trebula Mutuesca, the present day Monteleone Sabinio and Anatolia to the Sabine town Thiora.
Victoria's exile lasted for three years, till 253 AD. On her death Christian priests anointed her body with precious ointments and covered her in a linen shroud. They then laid her body in a marble sarcophagus.
Many extraordinary miracles occurred at her tomb. The Saint was martyred on the 19th December 253 and buried on the 23rd of that month. A shrine was constructed on the site of her death, by the VIII century it had become a church.
Rebuilt at the end of the XI century it has since been restored a number of times. Today the place dedicated to the cult of Santa Vittoria is one of the most beautiful Romanic churches of Central Italy. It contains the sarcophagus in which the Saint was deposed, an ancient water cistern that according to tradition contained the waters that sprouted at the moment of her death.
Curiosities
#According to popular belief in the X century the relics of the Saint were moved to the Marche region by the monks of Farfa to sanctify a new settlement built on Mont Matinano, after they had escaped from bands of maundering Saracens.
#In the construction of the church and belfry a large amount of masonry from the Roman town of Trebula Mutuesca was used. The most beautiful of the recovered artifacts were employed on the church's façade.
Popular Traditions
It is tradition in Monteleone Sabino that at the end of the procession in honor of St. John the Evangelist and of the Virgin Mary for a family to take the custody the small statue of the Saint and the Madonna. They undertake to keep alive the devotion and to recite the Rosary every week.
Every time the statues are taken out they are accompanied by the throwing of "Ciammelletti", bagel like buns that are first boiled and then baked in the oven.
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The Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo
Monte San Giovanni, Monte Tancia
Visits free
The Grotto of San Michele is a small rocky sanctuary situated in a grotto surrounded by the forest of Monte Tancia. It is thought that originally the grotto was used as a place of worship of the Sabine Goddess Vacuna, patroness of the forests and water. In the cave there used to be a rough sculpture made from a stalactite that had a female form but it was stolen some years back.
Following the advent of Christianity a monastery was built at the base of the rock face. To reach the place it is necessary to follow a foot path through the forest to a clearing at the base of the cliff onto which cave opens.
On the edge of the clearing are the remains, hidden by the vegetation, of the cells of the monks. Access to the grotto is via a step stair case hedged in the face of the rock. It leads to a small landing in front of the entrance closed by an iron gate but it is possible to see the interior through the iron bars. Inside is an altar above which rises a ciborium, supported by two columns and covered in frescos which include the bust of Christ surrounded by the apocalyptic symbols of the four evangelists. In the lunette at the back of the altar is an image of the Madonna and Baby Jesus. The Agnus Dei is depicted at the bottom of the ciborium, with the prophets seen bowing in respect. On the side of the grotto are frescos that represent the Virgin and Baby and St. Michael in his golden armour.
There are also a number of concretions on the sides that form stalagmites and stalactites.
Curiosities
# The Christianization of the grotto is tied to the IV century legend that tells of a fierce dragon that was devastating the area, it lived in the cave. While praying on the Monte Soratte, one night Pope Sylvester saw two angels descent from Heaven amidst bolts of lightning to defeat the dragon. On the 8th May he led a procession of the faithful to the grotto and consecrated it St. Michael.
# Till not long ago the 8th May was an important day for the inhabitants of Poggio Catino, Monte San Giovanni, Roccantica, Salisano and Mompeo. The population would visit the site in procession and there celebrate a mass to commemorate the dragon's defeat and St. Michael's victory.
# In 1988, while celebrating a mass drops of water started falling from the ceiling at the moment of the Elevation of the Host, this was interpreted as a sign from Heaven by those present.
