Mount Pirchiriano
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The Sacra di San Michele, sometimes known as Saint Michael's Abbey, is a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, situated on the south side of the
Val di Susa The Susa Valley (; ; ; ; ) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the south. It is one of the longest valleys of the Italian Alps. It ...
in the territory of the municipality of
Sant'Ambrogio di Torino Sant'Ambrogio di Torino () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about 25 km west of Turin in the Susa Valley. Sant'Ambrogio di Torino borders the municipalities of ...
, in the
Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the prov ...
,
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
region of northwestern Italy. The abbey, which for much of its history was under
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
rule, is now entrusted to the
Rosminians The Rosminians, officially named the Institute of Charity (), abbreviated I.C., are a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio Rosmini and first organise ...
. A special regional law acknowledges it as the "Symbolic monument of the
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
region". This monumental abbey served as one of the inspirations for the book ''
The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical fiction, historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...
'' by
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...
.


History

According to some historians, in
Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...
a military stronghold existed on the current location of the abbey, commanding the main road leading to
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
from Italy. Later, after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...
, the
Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
built a fortress here against the
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
invasions. Little is known of the early years of the abbey. The oldest extant account is that of a monk, William, who lived here in the late 11th century and wrote a ''Chronicon Coenobii Sancti Michaelis de Clusa''. He sets the foundation of the abbey in 966, but, in another passage, the same monk maintains that the construction began under the
pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of Ro ...
of
Sylvester II Pope Sylvester II (; – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Science in the medieva ...
(999–1003). What is now the
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
was built in the late 10th century, as attested by the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
influence in the niches, columns and arches. According to tradition, this building was constructed by the
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
Saint John Vincent former Archbishop of Ravenna, at the behest of the archangel
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
to whom he was particularly devoted; and the building materials which the hermit had collected were transported miraculously to the top of the mountain. In addition, it is noted that the cult of
St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...
, the archangel who warred with Lucifer, typically bases its churches on pinnacles or hard-to-reach places, for example,
Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...
in France. In the following years, a small edifice was added, which could house a small community of monks and some pilgrims. Later the abbey developed under the Benedictine rule, with the construction of a separate building with guest rooms for pilgrims following the popular
Via Francigena The Via Francigena (), also known as Francisca or Romea, is an ancient road and Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimage route running from the City status in the United Kingdom#Cathedral towns, cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and ...
and of a church-monastery (1015–1035), probably on the remains of the ancient Roman ''castrum''. During
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
in 1098,
St Anselm Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...
,
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, visited the monastery to see his nephew Anselm, who was a brother here. The younger Anselm would go on to serve as abbot of St Saba in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Abbot Ermengardo (1099–1131) had a new large, 26 m-high basement built from the foot of the hill to its peak, on which a new church (the one existing today) was added, including the surrounding structures. In the year 1315, the manuscript Breviary of San Michele della Chiusa was written containing the prayer cycle of the year for the monks of the Abbey. The monastery fell into decline and was finally suppressed in 1622 by
Pope Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV (; ; 9 January 1554 – 8 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 until his death in 1623. He is notable for founding the Congregation for the ...
. It remained abandoned until 1835, when King Charles Albert and the Pope asked
Antonio Rosmini Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati, IC (; 25 March 17971 July 1855) was an Italian Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity, and pioneered the concept of social justice an ...
to restore and repopulate it. It is currently under the care of the
Rosminians The Rosminians, officially named the Institute of Charity (), abbreviated I.C., are a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio Rosmini and first organise ...
.


Art and architecture

The church is located atop a rocky crag base and towers above the valley. The church façade leads to a staircase, the ''Scalone dei Morti'' ("Stairway of the Dead"), flanked by arches, niches and tombs in which, until recent times, skeletons of dead monks were visible (hence the name). At the top of the 243 steps is the marble ''Porta dello Zodiaco'', a masterwork of 12th-century sculpture. The church itself is accessed by a Romanesque portal in grey and green stone, built in the early 11th century. The church has a nave and two aisles and features elements of
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...
and
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
. On the left wall is a large fresco portraying the ''Annunciation'' (1505), while in the Old Choir is a triptych by
Defendente Ferrari Defendente Ferrari (c. 1480/1485 – c. 1540) was an Italian painter active in Piedmont. His work marks the transition from late Gothic traditions to Renaissance art in the region. Life and work Ferrari was born at Chivasso, near Turin. He ...
. The complex includes the ruins of the 12th–15th centuries monastery, which had five floors. It ends with the ''Torre della Bell'Alda'' ("Tower of the Beautiful Alda"). The so-called "Monks' Sepulchre" is probably the remains of a chapel reproducing, in its octagonal plan, the
Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...
of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.


Abbots


Elected abbots

From its foundation until 1380, the abbey had 27 monks elected abbot:Giovanni Gaddo, ''La Sacra di San Michele in Val di Susa'' (Domodossola: S.A.L.E., 1936). * Advertus (999–1002), from the * Benedict I (1002–1045) * Peter I (1045–1066) * Benedict II (1066–1091), from the * William I (1091–1095) * Ermenegald (1095–1124) * Gaufridus (1124–1142) * Boniface I (1142–1148) * Stephen (1148–1170) * Benedict III (1170–1200) * Peter II (1200–1227) * Elias (1227–1239) * Matthew (1239–1244) * William II (1244–1261), from the House of * Decanus (1261–1283) * Raymond (1283–1292) * Richard (1292–1298), from the House of * Andrew (1298–1308) * Anthony (1308–1310) * William III (1310–1325), son of
Thomas III of Piedmont Count Thomas III (c. 1246 – 16 May 1282), called ''Thomas of Savoy'' or ''de Savoie'', was the lord of Piedmont and a claimant to the county of Savoy from 1268. He was the eldest son of Thomas II of Savoy and Beatrice di Fieschi, niece of Po ...
* Rodolfo di Mombello (1325–1359) * Ugone di Marbosco (1359–1361) * Giacomo (1361–1362) * Pierre de Fongeret (1362–1379)


Commendatary abbots

From 1381 to 1826 the abbey was served by 26 abbots ''
in commendam In canon law, commenda (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastica ...
'': * Guido di Saorgio (1381–1391) * (1391–1408), bishop * (1408–1411), bishop *
Antoine de Challant Antoine de Challant (c. 1350 – 4 September 1418) was a Savoyard cleric who served as Chancellor to the Count of Savoy and was later co-opted into the papal curia by Pope Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience. Pope Benedict created him a cardi ...
(1411–1421), cardinal * Jean Seyturier (1421–1446), counsellor of
Amadeus VIII of Savoy Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began t ...
* Guillaume de Varax (1446–1461), bishop * (1461–1503), bishop * (1503–1522), bishop *
Giovanni Battista Pallavicino Giovanni Battista Pallavicino (1480–1524) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Giovanni Battista Pallavicino was born in Genoa in 1480, the son of Cipriano Pallavicino and Bianca Gattilusi. He was the nephew of Cardi ...
(1522–1535), cardinal *
Bonifacio Ferrero Bonifacio Ferrero (1476–1543) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Bonifacio Ferrero was born in Biella in 1476, the son of Sebastiano Ferraro and Tomena Avogadro. He was the younger brother of Cardinal Gianstefano Fe ...
(1535–1535), cardinal *
Filiberto Ferrero Filiberto Ferrero (1500–1549) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Filiberto Ferrero was born in Biella in 1500, the son of Goffredo Ferrero, marquis of Bordolano, and his second wife Margherita Sanseverino, marchiones ...
(1535–1538), cardinal * Pier Francesco Ferrero (1538–1549), cardinal * Filiberto Ferrero (1549–1560), cardinal (second time) *
Guido Luca Ferrero Guido Luca Ferrero (18 May 1537 – 16 May 1585) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Guido Luca Ferrero was born in Turin on 18 May 1537, the son of Sebastiano Ferrero, '' signore'' of Casalvolone and Villata, and his ...
(1560–1585), cardinal *
Michele Bonelli Michele Bonelli, Cardinal Alessandrino (25 November 1541– 28 March 1598) was an Italian senior papal diplomat with a distinguished career that spanned two decades from 1571. Biography Born in Bosco Marengo, in the Duchy of Savoy, he wa ...
(1585–1598), cardinal * Lorenzo Capris (1598–1603), nobleman * Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (1603–1604), nobleman *
Giovanni Botero Giovanni Botero (c. 1544 – 23 June 1617) was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, author of '' Della Ragion di Stato (The Reason of State)'',Botero, Giovanni, Pamela Waley, Daniel Philip Waley, and Robert Peterson. 1956. The Rea ...
(1604–1611), presbyter *
Maurice of Savoy Maurice of Savoy (10 January 15933 October 1657, Turin) was an Italian nobleman, politician and cardinal. He was the fourth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Infanta Catalina Micaela of Spain. Life Born in Turin, Maurice was the f ...
(1611–1642), cardinal * (1642–1698), military commander *
Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
(1698–1736), military commander ** ''vacant (1736–1742)'' * (1742–1757), cardinal ** ''vacant (1757–1759)'' *
Carlo Alberto Guidobono Cavalchini Carlo Alberto Guidoboni Cavalchini (26 July 1683 – 7 March 1774) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal. Considered ''papabile'' in the Papal conclave, 1758, he was vetoed by Louis XV of France under the ''jus exclusivae''. A lawyer b ...
(1759–1774), cardinal ** ''vacant (1774–1777)'' * Giacinto Sigismondo Gerdil (1777–1818), cardinal * Cesare Garretti dei Conti di Ferrere (1818–1826), nobleman * Giuseppe Cacherano dei Conti di Bricherasio (1826), nobleman


Rosminian rectors

* Andrea Alotto (1943–1946, 1951–1984) * Angelo Giupponi (1984–1990) * Antonio Salvatori (1990–2003) * Giuseppe Bagattini (2003–2018) * Claudio Massimiliano Papa (since 2018)


Notes


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Piedmont Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan City of Turin Christian monasteries established in the 10th century 1622 disestablishments Gothic architecture in Piedmont Romanesque architecture in Piedmont