Monasteries and spiritual walks in Emilia-Romagna

Place: Chiaravalle, (Alseno, Piacenza)
Year of establishment: 11th century
Related way: Via Francigena (viefrancigene.org)
Curiosities: the abbey is famous for the “Infiorata del Corpus Domini” (May/June), an event when an astounding carpet of flowers is laid down along the central nave of the basilica

Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba | Photo © chiaravalledellacolomba.it

Wonderful monument of medieval art, the abbey was founded in 1136 by San Bernardo in Chiaravalle, following the bishop of Piacenza Arduino’s request.
According to the Benedictine rule “Ora et labora” (pray and work), the monks gave life to an exquisite complex that was ended over the subsequent two centuries.

The 14th century-cloister is noteworthy for its perfect shapes and measured architecture, a crossroad between Romanesque and Gothic art.

It is part of the trail of Via Francigena and it offers pilgrims hospitality and refreshments with a kitchen and some beds.

Place: Reggio nell’Emilia
Year of establishment: 16th century
Related way: Matilde’s Way of the Holy Face (sentieromatilde.it)
Curiosities: the church was built thanks to the donations given by the local community after the fresco of the Virgin that is preserved inside the sanctuary was involved in a miraculous event (today the fresco is known as Madonna della Ghiara).

Sanctuary of Beata Vergine della Ghiara | Photo © 9thsphere

Lively place of worship and a masterpiece of art, deeply attached to the community of Reggio Emilia, the sanctuary towers over the city centre, in an area called “della Ghiara” or “della Giarra”, which means a rocky place.

It was designed by Alessandro Balbi from Ferrara (1597), and it preserves the highest expressions of paintings dating back to the early Emilian 17th century.

In 2019 it will celebrate its four hundred years with a rich program of events. We suggest you the weekend of 11-12 May, 7-8 September and 7-8 December.

Place: Nonantola (Modena)
Year of establishment: 12th century
Related way: Romea Nonantolana Way / The Romea Germanica Imperiale Way (camministorici.it) and Romea Strata Longobarda Nonantolana Way (romeastrata.it)
Curiosities: the decorations of the portal of the church were created by the students of Wiligelmo, one of the most important Romanesque sculptors in Italy, who also created the reliefs of the Cathedral of Modena

Abbey of San Silvestro | Photo © abbazianonantola.it

Founded in the 8th century by Langobard Duke Astolfo, the abbey was one of the most important pilgrimage places in Europe during the Middle Ages. Together with the church, the crypt and the frescoes of its refectory, it is an amazing example of Langobardic-Romanesque architecture stratified over the centuries.

It was a meeting place for popes, emperors, and high priests and it hosted one of the most beautiful libraries of the Middle Ages with official documents and parchments of Charlemagne, Matilda of Tuscany and Frederick I.

Because of his leading role as regards the spiritual and political events of that times, the abbey was a departure and meeting point of two important spiritual trails that led to Rome: Romea Nonantolana Way, which takes the name from the abbey, and Romea Strata Longobarda Nonantolana Way, which started from Central-western Europe.

After the long restoration following the 2012 earthquake, the abbey returned to its former glory becoming the site of an extraordinary Jubilee Holy Year granted directly by Pope Francis, which will end on December 31st, 2019.

Place: Bologna
Year of establishment: 15th century
Related trails: Wool and Silk Road (viadellalanaedellaseta.com) / Way of the Gods (viadeglidei.it) / St. Anthony’s Way (ilcamminodisantantonio.it)
Curiosities: the sanctuary is connected to Bologna through the famous portico of San Luca, which is, with its 600 arcades and 4 km width, the longest in the world.

Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca | Photo © Vanni Lazzari

A reassuring reference point for all the people of Bologna, the sanctuary rises up on the hill called Colle Della Guardia (280 mt a.s.l.).

Its first church was built during the 12th century with the aim of safeguarding the little Byzantine icon of the Virgin with Child that, according to tradition, was brought there from Constantinople.

Because of the spiritual importance and the geographical position on the first slopes of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, over the centuries the sanctuary was a reference point for many pilgrims who were travelling across Northern Italy along important streets like the old Way of the Gods, the commercial Wool and Silk Road and the St. Anthony’s Way.

Place: Codigoro (Ferrara)
Year of establishment: 6th-7th century onwards
Related way: Viae Misericordiae (viaemisericordiae.altervista.org) / Romea Germanica Way (viaromeagermanica.com)
Curiosities: from the 11th century, in this abbey, the Benedictine monk Guido d’Arezzo invented the modern music notation, the four-line staff notation, the predecessor of the current staff

Abbey of Santa Maria di Pomposa | Photo © Ferrara Terra e Acqua

Proceeding along the state road Romea that connects Ravenna to Mestre, the high bell tower of abbey suddenly bursts out at the end of the Po Delta Park. In a Ravenna-Byzantine style, its origins date back between the 6th and 7th-century a.D.

Towards 1000 a.D. the complex reached its apex, turning in one of the most important monasteries in Northern-central Italy, welcoming guests such as Dante Alighieri and Pier Damiani, and collecting art treasures.

The frescoes of the basilica inspired by the style of Giotto are of outstanding beauty, as well as the amazing mosaic floors with marble inlays dating back between the 6th and 12th century.

Place: Sarsina (FC)
Year of establishment: 10th-11th century
Related way: St. Vicinius’ Way (camminodisanvicinio.it)
Curiosities: every year, many persons arrive in the little town of Sarsina, fatherland to the Roman playwright Plautus, to take part in the rite of San Vicinio

Basilica of San Vicinio | Photo © Il Faentino

Standing on one of the oldest historical walks in Italy, the Basilica of San Vicinio owes its name to the first bishop of Sarsina, a fundamental figure in the process of evangelism of this part of Romagna during the first centuries after Christ.

Solemn and austere, the building was erected towards the year one thousand in a perfect Romanesque style and was later modified and rebuilt.

Inside, it preserves the collar that, according to tradition, Vicinio wore tied to a stone while praying.

Still today, thousands of worshippers arrive at the basilica to receive the blessing from the collar that is said to be able to cast out evil from the soul.

Place: Dovadola (FC)
Year of establishment: the beginning of the 20th century
Related trails: Assisi Way (camminodiassisi.it) / St. Anthony’s Way (ilcamminodisantantonio.org)
Curiosities: near the sanctuary, following the “Path of hope”, you reach a little chapel that recalls the place where the Saint used to go to pray

Hermitage of Montepaolo | Photo © romagnatoscanaturismo.it

Hidden in the heart of the territory of Forlì, the hermitage of Montepaolo is the most important sanctuary in Emilia-Romagna that is dedicated to Saint Anthony from Padua: between 1221 and 1222, one of the greatest saints of Christianity lived here for more than 15 months.

Isolated amidst nature, the building preserves the relics of Anthony, which were directly taken from his body preserved in the Basilica of Padua.

The church was built at the beginning of the 20th century in a neo-Gothic style and is at the same time a fundamental stop both for the St. Anthony’s Way that leads to the Franciscan Sanctuary Della Verna and for the Assisi Way that starts right here.

Place: Covignano di Rimini
Year of establishment: 15th century with several subsequent rebuilding works
Related trails: St. Francis Way from Rimini to La Verna (camminosanfrancescoriminilaverna.it)
Curiosities: the sanctuary consists of two little churches gathered in a unique building. The oldest church dates back to the beginning of the 12th century, whereas the second one was built in the mid-16th century.

With the sea of Rimini as a backdrop, on the top of the hills of Covignano, the Sanctuary originates from a miraculous intervention related to the Blessed Virgin.

Today, many works can be admired here: the decorations of the wooden ceiling, a crucifix of the 14th century-grotesque school, wooden crucifixes of the 17th and 18th century, a canvas by Rodrìguez and the painting of Annunziata by Ottaviano Nelli from Gubbio (1415).