The Farfa Abbey
An Ancient and Powerful Abbey
 Farfa Abbey profoundly
influenced the history of the whole of the Sabina area, having
controlled, during it's "golden age", nearly all the nearby towns and
villages. But it wasn't only important on a local level, in fact
it was one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in Europe and
played a major role in the power struggles between the Papacy and the
Holy Roman Empire, opposing the power of the Papacy for centuries. The
role of the Abbey in conserving knowledge and culture and in spreading
new technologies during a period of instability, invasions and
depopulation caused by plague should not be underestimated. |
| The exact date of the
foundation of the Abbey is uncertain, according to legend it was
founded in the sixth century by St. Lorenzo Siro. After a period in
which it was abandoned due to the Longobard invasions the monastery was
rebuilt by St. Tommaso of Moriana, around 680 AD, after he had a vision
during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in which the Virgin Mary appeared
to him and instructed him to find and reconstruct the ruined basilica. The monastery, which followed the Benedictine rule, immediately assumed an  important political role. Under the protection of the
Dukes of Spoleto and the Longobard kings the Abbey became rich,
assuming control of many nearby castles and villages and opposing the
power of Rome. In 775 AD the monastery sided with Charlemagne, a happy
choice which led to the further expansion of the Abbey's influence and
the reconstruction of the basilica on a larger scale under the Abbot
Sicardo, (830-842 AD). In 897 AD the Abbey was abandoned and
burned again due to the Saracen invasions. The reconstruction began in
913 AD but with the decline of the Caroline empire several
decades passed before the Abbey was able to regain it's former power.
Under the Abbot Ugo I (997-1038 AD) and his successors the monastery
saw a political and spiritual renaissance, regaining its lands in the
Sabina.With the crisis in the Benedictine order and the struggle for the Papacy in the twelfth century the Abbey began to decline and eventually fell under the control of the Papal States. From here on it's history follows that of the Vatican and the struggles between powerful Roman families for it's control. In 1477 AD the Orsini family asserted it's growing power in the Sabina by expelling all the monks of Farfa and replacing them with Teutonic monks. In the following centuries the Abbey passed under the control of various Roman nobles such as the Barberini and the Farnese but it never really reacquired the importance and independence it once had. Finally, in 1841 AD its powers were definitively transferred to the diocese of the Sabina. |
 Farfa Abbey played a vital role not only in the
religious and political life of the area but also in it's economic
development. This is demonstrated by the importance of the Farfa Fair,
which already existed in 882 AD Thanks to generous concessions from the
Caroline Empire Farfa became a focal point for trade with an important
weekly market. After the reconstruction of the monastery by the Orsinis
during the Renaissance new shops were built around the monastery to
accommodate the merchants, giving birth to a twice yearly fair lasting
15 days. These shops and the urban structure of which they are part can
still be seen today and the street names reflect the original uses of
each street, for example "via di droghe e cere" (street of medicines
and waxes), "via di panni e sete" (street of cloths and silks) and so
on. You can still see the characteristic stone slabs at the entrance to
each shop which were used as counters by the merchants. |
Angela Guest House
A Vacaton Home near Rome
| Details: | - | Porch or Covered Terrace | ||
| - | TV (The Francesca apartment also has Satelite TV). | |||
| - | Account 30% of the total amount and must be paid at booking. | |||
| - | The remaining amount must be paid upon arrival at check-in. | |||
| - | Prices include a supply of Bed linen. | |||
| - | Prices include a supply of Bathroom towels. | |||
| - | All the prices include gas, water, electricity and heating. | |||
| - | Our prices do not include transport to the Surface Subway station. | |||
| - | Final cleaning at check-out 20 €. | |||
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Check-in: after 3pm. Check-out: before 10am. | |||
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| For any information or booking, please contact us at: | ||||
| Email: hscappa@yahoo.it | ||||
| Tel: +39 338 316 1647 | ||||
| Fax: +39 0765 387271 | ||||
| English, Portuguese and Italian are currently spoken. | ||||
For any information or booking, please contact us at:
Email: hscappa@yahoo.it
Tel: +39 338 316 1647
Fax: +39 0765 387271
English, Portuguese and Italian are currently spoken.
Angela Guest House
Via Grotte di Torri, 9 - Loc. Baccelli
Fraz. Passo Corese
Rome, Italy