The Abbey of Frassinoro was one of the many Benedictine monasteries throughout Europe associated with the noblewoman Matilda of Tuscany, who reigned over the Badia lands near Frassinoro. This abbey was located in Frassinoro, in the Apennines in the province of Modena, on the border with Reggio Emilia.
It is believed that the original church dates back to the Italian-Byzantine period in the 7th-10th centuries. At the end of the 8th century, there was a small church under the administration of the pieve (parish) of Rubbiano; the former had been in existence since the time of Siegfried I, Longobard founder of the Canossa dynasty, or about 930 AD. The chapel was located along the ancient via Bibulca which went through the San Pellegrino Pass in order to arrive to Lucca, a destination for pilgrims who came to worship the "Holy Face". Between 1007 and 1052, a hostel for travelers was annexed to the church, and was then placed under the Abbey of Polirone, near Mantua. [1] In 1072, Beatrice of Lotharinga or Beatrice of Bar and her daughter Matilda of Canossa (also called Matilda of Tuscany), gave the relics of Saint Claudius, a martyr, [2] to this Benedictine convent. [3] [4] The highest period of splendor for this abbey was when Beatrice of Lotharingia founded a Benedictine abbey; thereafter, its history got confused with that of the abbey in the nearby town of Montefiorino. From 1210 to 1261, the abbey was at the center of several disputes with the municipality of Modena for control of the territory.
All that remains of the abbey are a few liturgical objects from the 11th and 12th centuries, some of which are kept in the Civic Museum of Modena. Built on the old foundations of the abbey, which fell into ruin in the 15th century, stands the present church of Frassinoro dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta of San Claudio and Lawrence
Matilda of Tuscany, or Matilda of Canossa, also referred to as la Gran Contessa, was a member of the House of Canossa in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was one of the most important governing figures of the Italian Middle Ages. She reigned in a time of constant battles, political intrigues, and excommunications by the Church. She was able to demonstrate an innate and skilled strategic leadership capacity in both military and diplomatic matters.
Modena is a city and comune (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
The province of Ferrara is a province in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Its capital is the city of Ferrara. As of May 2023, it has a population of 338,143 inhabitants over an area of 2,635.12 square kilometres (1,017.43 sq mi). The province contains 23 comuni, listed in the list of comuni of the province of Ferrara. Its provincial president is Gianni Michele Padovani.
Nonantola is a town and comune in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is in the Po Valley about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Modena on the road to Ferrara.
Nonantola Abbey, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, is a former Benedictine monastery and prelature nullius in the commune of Nonantola, c. 10 km north-east of Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The abbey church remains as a basilica and is the co-cathedral of the diocese of Modena-Nonantola.
Altopascio is a comune (municipality) in the province of Lucca, in the Italian region of Tuscany, with a population of 15,572.
Boniface III, son of Tedald of Canossa and the father of Matilda of Tuscany, was the most powerful north Italian prince of his age. By inheritance he was count of Brescia, Canossa, Ferrara, Florence, Lucca, Mantua, Modena, Pisa, Pistoia, Parma, Reggio, and Verona from 1007 and, by appointment, margrave of Tuscany from 1027 until his assassination in 1052.
Beatrice of Bar was the marchioness of Tuscany by marriage to Boniface III of Tuscany, and Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death, during the minority of and in co-regency with, her daughter Matilda. She was the daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine, count of Bar, and Matilda of Swabia. She was married first to Boniface III of Tuscany and later to Godfrey of Lotharingia.
Canossa is a comune and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII. The Walk to Canossa is sometimes used as a symbol of the changing relationship between the medieval Church and State.
Saint Marcellus of Tangier or Saint Marcellus the Centurion was a Roman centurion who is today venerated as a martyr-saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated on October 30.
The March of Tuscany was a march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south, the Ligurian Sea to the west and Lombardy to the north. It comprised a collection of counties, largely in the valley of the River Arno, originally centered on Lucca.
The Castle of Canossa is a castle in Canossa, province of Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, especially known for being the location of the Road to Canossa, the meeting of Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy (1077).
Fontanaluccia is a frazione of the comune of Frassinoro in the Province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, central Italy.
San Bartolomeo in Pantano is a Romanesque and Gothic style, Roman Catholic church in Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy, dedicated to St. Bartholomew the Apostle. The pantano of the name refers to the once marshy area in which the building was located.
Bibulca Way was an old road dating back to the 11th century that used to link up Modena with Lucca and it was part of a much bigger network of roads. It starts where the Dragone River flows into the Dolo River in the La Piana locality and finishes at San Pellegrino in Alpe, a hamlet located on the ridge that separates the Tuscan from the Emilian Apennines. It was also called the Imperial Way due to its high toll that had to be paid in order to use it and that it could host a cart drawn by two oxen one beside the other, a luxury for the time. It has a length of 30 kilometers, starting from a height of 360 metres and arriving at a height of 1,529 metres. Now it is used as an amateur trekking path that runs alongside the Strada provinciale 32MO road and in certain stretches shares the same route.
The Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone is a large complex of Benedictine order monastic buildings, including a church and cloisters, located in the town of San Benedetto Po, Province of Mantua, Region of Lombardy, Italy. The complex, now belonging to the city, houses offices, a museum, and is open to visitors.
The Bevilacqua dynasty governed parts of Northern Italy between the 10th and 12th centuries. Their rise to prominence began in 962 when Otto I the Great, the first Holy Roman Emperor, appointed Antonio Bevilacqua as Governor of Lazise. The family remained loyal to the Emperors until they later allied themselves with Matilda of Tuscany; they were granted a Principality at Bevilacqua in 1059, and acquired other territories in the areas of Verona and Ferrara. During the 12th-century conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Bevilacqua led the victorious Ghibellines of Verona. They later supported the Canossa family of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa, and in recognition received the church of San Salvaro in Verona.
Santa Maria Assunta is Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic parish church located at Via della Chiesa in the frazione of Rubbiano, in the town of Montefiorino, province of Modena, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Santa Lucia is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Gallicano, region of Tuscany, Italy.
The Abbey of San Basilide (Italian: Abbazia di San Basilide, also known as Badia Cavana, is a former Vallombrosan monastery and church located in the neighborhood of San Michele Cavana of the town of Lesignano de' Bagni, Province of Parma, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
44°17′38.06″N10°34′18.95″E / 44.2939056°N 10.5719306°E
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