Abbey of the Santissima Trinità (Venosa)

Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity
Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity
	Abbazia della Santissima Trinità
	The Parco Archeologico of Venosa, with the walls of the Incompiuta (centre, right) and part of the old church (left, with pink roof); in the foreground, the remains of Roman Venusia
	Shown within Basilicata
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	40°58′10″N15°49′39″E / 40.9695°N 15.8276°E Coordinates: 40°58′10″N15°49′39″E / 40.9695°N 15.8276°E
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Municipality	Venosa
Region	Basilicata
Website	Comune of Venosa
Architectural description
Architectural style	Roman ; early Christian ; Romanesque ; Lombard ; Norman ;
Groundbreaking	Fifth century
Completed	not completed

Last updated March 05, 2019

The Abbey of the Santissima Trinità or Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity, Italian : Abbazia della Santissima Trinità, is a Roman Catholic abbey complex at Venosa, in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The architecture of the abbey shows Roman, Lombard, and Norman influences. The complex lies within the Parco Archeologico ("archaeological park") of Venosa, approximately 1.5 km north-east of the town; it falls under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa. It consists of the old church, of uncertain date; the monastery buildings; and the Incompiuta, the unfinished or new church, begun in the last quarter of the eleventh century and never completed. The complex was declared a National Monument by Royal Decree on 20 November 1897.^[1] It is no longer a monastery, but is used by the Trinitarian Order.^[2]^:67

Italian is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria. It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece, and is generally understood in Corsica and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. In spite of not existing any Italian community in their respective national territories and of not being spoken at any level, Italian is included de jure, but not de facto, between the recognized minority languages of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania. Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages.

An abbey is a complex of buildings used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. It provides a place for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.

Venosa is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, Rapolla and Spinazzola.

History

The date of construction of the monastery is unknown; some elements may date from the eighth century.^[3] A foundation date of 954 AD is documented in the spurious Chronicon Cavense of the forger, scholar and priest Francesco Maria Pratilli (1689–1763).^[4] Following the Council of Melfi in 1059, the church was transformed from a cathedral to an abbey by a bull of Pope Nicholas II, and the number of monks increased from 20 to 100. In the same year he invested Robert Guiscard as Duke of Puglia and Calabria, and Guiscard made the abbey the religious centre of his domain.^[2]^:73

Francesco Maria Pratilli (1689–1763) was an Italian priest, scholar, antiquarian, whose name is known, from the 19th century, for being involved in a vast series of skilled forgeries.

Papal bull type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by a pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) that was traditionally appended to the end in order to authenticate it.

Pope Nicholas II, born Gérard de Bourgogne, was pope from 24 January 1059 until his death. At the time of his election, he was Bishop of Florence.

The old church stands on the site of an Imperial Roman building, probably a domus , which shows traces both of earlier Republican occupation and of later Late Classical modification. Some walls of the church are built directly on the mosaic floors of the earlier structure.^[5]

In ancient Rome, the domus was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It could be found in almost all the major cities throughout the Roman territories. The modern English word domestic comes from Latin domesticus, which is derived from the word domus. The word dom in modern Slavic languages means "home" and is a cognate of the Latin word, going back to Proto-Indo-European. Along with a domus in the city, many of the richest families of ancient Rome also owned a separate country house known as a villa. Many chose to live primarily, or even exclusively, in their villas; these homes were generally much grander in scale and on larger acres of land due to more space outside the walled and fortified city.

The Roman Republic was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

A mosaic is a piece of art or image made from the assembling of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It is often used in decorative art or as interior decoration. Most mosaics are made of small, flat, roughly square, pieces of stone or glass of different colors, known as tesserae. Some, especially floor mosaics, are made of small rounded pieces of stone, and called "pebble mosaics".

To the south of the church and oriented at right-angles to it are the remains of an early Christian basilica, probably built in the late fifth or early sixth century, with a hexagonal font in a trefoil apse.^[5]^:140

Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, identifiably Christian art only survives from the 2nd century onwards. After 550 at the latest, Christian art is classified as Byzantine, or of some other regional type.

The Latin word basilica has three distinct applications in modern English. Originally, the word was used to refer to an ancient Roman public building, where courts were held, as well as serving other official and public functions. It usually had the door at one end and a slightly raised platform and an apse at the other, where the magistrate or other officials were seated. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town, usually adjacent to the main forum. Subsequently, the basilica was not built near a forum but adjacent to a palace and was known as a "palace basilica".

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism.

Old church

The Romanesque entrance to the church is flanked by a pair of stone lions. The church is laid out on a typical early Christian basilica plan, with a narthex and atrium, a wide central nave and lateral aisles, transept and semi-circular apse with ambulatory.^[3] Alterations were made by the Lombards in the 10th century,^{[ citation needed ]} and by the Normans between the 11th and 13th centuries. Two Corinthian columns stand in the nave.

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. In the 12th century it developed into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper.

In architecture, an atrium is a large open air or skylight covered space surrounded by a building. Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior. Modern atria, as developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, are often several stories high and having a glazed roof or large windows, and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors.

In the right aisle is the Hauteville Tomb (Italian: La tomba degli Altavilla), in which five members of the Norman Hauteville family are buried: Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro ("William Iron Arm", 1010–1046), his brothers Drogo (c. 1010 – 1051) and Umfredo (Humphrey, c. 1010 – 1057), and their half-brothers Robert Guiscard (c. 1015 – 1085) and Guglielmo (William, c. 1027 – 1080). Their bones, previously buried separately, were gathered into a single monument in the mid-16th century by Agostino Gorizio Barba da Novara, bailiff of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem.^[6]

The Normans are an ethnic group that arose in Normandy, a northern region of France, from contact between indigenous Franks and Gallo-Romans, and Norse Viking settlers. The settlements followed a series of raids on the French coast from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, and they gained political legitimacy when the Viking leader Rollo agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia. The distinct cultural and ethnic identity of the Normans emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century, and it continued to evolve over the succeeding centuries.

The Hauteville was a Norman family originally of seigneurial rank from the Cotentin. The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. By 1130, one of their number, Roger II, was made the first King of Sicily. His male-line descendants ruled Sicily until 1194. Some Italian Hautevilles took part in the First Crusade and the founding of the Principality of Antioch (1098).

Drogo of Hauteville was the second Count of Apulia and Calabria (1046–51) in southern Italy. Initially he was only the leader of those Normans in the service of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, but after 1047 he was a territorial prince owing fealty directly to the Emperor.

In the left aisle is the tomb of Aberada or Alberada of Buonalbergo, who married Robert Guiscard in 1053 but was repudiated by him for the Lombard princess Sichelgaita of Salerno. Aberada's son by Guiscard, Bohemond I of Antioch, hero of the First Crusade, died at Canosa in 1111 and is buried there. The inscription on her tomb reads:

GVISCARDI CONIVX ABERADA HAC CONDITVR ARCA
SI GENITVM QVÆRES HVNC CANVSINVS HABET

or roughly: "Aberada wife of Guiscard lies in this sepulchre; if you seek her son, Canosa has him".

Construction of L'Incompiuta began in the last quarter of the 11th century.^[7] Use was made of materials from monuments of various civilizations, including the Roman, Lombard and Jewish. The layout is unusual for Italy, and French in conception; it shows similarities to that of the cathedrals of Aversa and Acerenza.^[7]

In 1297, by order of Pope Boniface VIII, the abbey passed from the Benedictines into the hands of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, at that time based in the Kingdom of Cyprus.^[2]^:78

The entrance to the old church, far left
The interior of the old church
Stairs leading to the monastery
Tomb of Aberada
Column of Friendship
The Hauteville Tomb
Interior of the Incompiuta
Interior of the Incompiuta
Interior of the Incompiuta

Related Research Articles

Robert Guiscard was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become Count of Apulia and Calabria (1057–1059), and then Duke of Apulia and Calabria and Duke of Sicily (1059–1085), and briefly Prince of Benevento (1078–1081) before returning the title to the Pope.

The Catepanateof Italy was a province of the Byzantine Empire, comprising mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of Salerno. Amalfi and Naples, although north of that line, maintained allegiance to Constantinople through the catepan. The Italian region of Capitanata derives its name from the Catepanate.

Humphrey of Hauteville, surnamed Abagelard, was the Count of Apulia and Calabria from 1051 to his death.

Guardia Lombardi, known as La Uàrdia in the Guardiese dialect or Guardiae Longobardorum in Latin, is a small town and comune in the Province of Avellino in Campania, Italy. At an elevation of 998 metres (3,274 ft), it is located in Alta Irpinia in the Apennine Mountains of Southern Italy. It has experienced a number of major earthquakes throughout its history that have devastated the town, and is considered within zone 1 of the Protezione Civile's seismic classification index, indicating very high seismicity.

Scurcola Marsicana is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.

Volturara Appula is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. Once a flourishing city, the comune now has a population of less than 500.

Henry was the Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, with his seat at Foggia, from November 1081.

Berengar was the Bishop of Venosa. He is mentioned for the last time at Christmas 1096.

La Trinità della Cava, commonly known as Badia di Cava, is a Benedictine territorial abbey located near Cava de' Tirreni, in the province of Salerno, southern Italy. It stands in a gorge of the Finestre Hills.

The County of Apulia and Calabria, later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria, was a Norman country founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when Robert Guiscard was raised to the rank of duke by Pope Nicholas II in 1059.

Sant'Antonio, Italian for Saint Anthony, most often refers to places named after Saint Anthony of Padua or Sant'Antonio Abate:

Mauro Del Giudice was an Italian magistrate, jurist and writer.

A Daunian stele is a type of stone funerary monument constructed by the Daunians, an Iapygian tribe which inhabited Apulia in classical antiquity. Daunian stelae were made from the end of the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC. They consist of a parallelepiped-shaped plate, which protrudes from the upper head and decorated on all four sides. Sizes vary between 40 and 130 cm in height, and consequently, between 20 and 80 cm in width while the thickness is between 3 and 12 cm.

Leo I of Cava was an Italian abbot and saint. He is remembered as the second abbot of the Abbey of La Trinità della Cava, located at Cava de' Tirreni and is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Banca Apulia S.p.A. marketed as BancApulia is an Italian bank incorporated in San Severo, in the Province of Foggia, Apulia region. The main office of the bank was located in Bari, in the centre of Apulia region instead.

Pandulf or Paldolf was the first Lombard lord (dominus) of Capaccio in the Principality of Salerno.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fiorentino, named after its see (Castel) Fiorentino, in the present 'commune' (municipality) of Torremaggiore, was a medieval Latin Rite bishopric (1059-1391) and remains a titular see.

References

↑ Luigi Ranieri, (1972). Basilicata. Torino: UTET. p. 289
1 2 3 Mariarosaria Salvatore (1984). Venosa, un parco archeologico ed un museo: come e perché (in Italian). Taranto: Scorpione. Accessed August 2013.
1 2 Rosa Villani (1999). Età angioina: La Chiesa della SS. Trinità a Venosa Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. (in Italian). Consiglio Regional di Basilicata. Accessed August 2013.
↑ Giacomo Cirsone (2012). La basilica della SS. Trinità di Venosa dalla Tarda Antichità all’Età Moderna (II parte) Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. (in Italian). La Capitanata, Semestrale della Biblioteca Provinciale di Foggia. XLX (27): 99–141. Accessed September 2013.
1 2 Giacomo Cirsone (2011). La basilica della SS. Trinità di Venosa dalla Tarda Antichità al Medioevo Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. (in Italian). La Capitanata, Semestrale della Biblioteca Provinciale di Foggia. XLVIII (25): 125–180. Accessed August 2013.
↑ Giacomo Cirsone (2013). La basilica della SS. Trinità di Venosa dalla Tarda Antichità all’Età Moderna (III parte) Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. (in Italian). La Capitanata, Semestrale della Biblioteca Provinciale di Foggia. LI (28): 113–134. Accessed September 2013.
1 2 Il complesso della SS. Trinità (in Italian). Comune di Venosa. Accessed August 2013.

Abbey of the Santissima Trinità (Venosa)

Contents

History

Old church

Related Research Articles

References

Further reading