Description of the attraction
The Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria is located in the small town of Castiglione a Casauria in the province of Pescara in the Italian region of Abruzzo. It was founded in 871 by Louis II, the great-grandson of King Charlemagne, on a vow he made during his imprisonment in the Duchy of Benevento. Initially, the abbey was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and in 872 - to Saint Clement, whose remains were transferred here in the same year.
Throughout its history, the abbey has been plundered several times, including by the Saracens in 920 and the Norman in 1076 and 1097. After the last plundering, the Benedictine abbot Grimoald initiated the reconstruction of the abbey building, which was rededicated in 1105. True, the work itself on the construction of the new building was completed only at the end of the 12th century.
The facade of the abbey is preceded by a portico with columns and capitals, under which there are three portals. The middle and largest in size has an architrave beam and a tympanum with a sculptural depiction of scenes from the life of St. Clement and the history of the abbey. In the center of the tympanum, you can see the figure of Saint Clement in papal vestments, to the right of him are Saints Fabio and Cornelius, and to the left is the Abbot Leonat, under whom the reconstruction of the building was completed. The bronze doors were made in 1191 - they are divided into 72 rectangular panels with images of objects such as crosses, abbots, rosaries, and 14 castles, which were run by the abbey.
Inside the now secularized church, there is a beautiful Easter candelabrum and a massive pulpit dating from the 12th century. The church itself consists of a central nave, two side chapels and a semicircular apse. The high altar is an early Christian tomb set on a 14th-century ciborium. Nearby you can see a large marble reliquary with the relics of St. Clement. And in the crypt, there are traces of the very first abbey building, founded in the 9th century.
