Abbey of Novalesa

Introduction

Take the Turin-Frejus motorway and exit at Susa Est; immediately afterwards there is the first sign on the left for Novalesa, a brown sign with white lettering. Go straight on through Susa; outside the town, after a while, you will come to the next signpost for the Abbey and the little village of Novalesa; you enter the Cenischia valley, which is full of waterfalls, and just before Novalesa, you must turn left, still following the signs, pass over a small bridge, and take the little road that leads to the Abbey; on the right, after a while, there is a first car park, you can leave your car here and continue on foot, or continue by car to the front of the monastery complex. The tour is guided, because the outside chapels are closed, and only the guide has the keys.

Description

The Abbey of Novalesa is now a monastery where a group of monks pray and work: to those who arrive there, it seems isolated, an oasis outside this convulsive world of ours. To truly understand what its function was in the past, one must place it in the historical era in which it was founded. First of all, it is located on a very important communication route, on the Via Francigena, just below the Moncenisio pass, and therefore it housed pilgrims by giving them a roof, a table, a bed, without distinction of creed or nationality, as well as religious comfort if required; then it was also a place of education.

Today, the Novalesa has a library of 30000 volumes with sections of special interest, organises study meetings and conferences, has a popular workshop, which works on the restoration of ancient books and documents. In the 8th century, the region around the Susa valley, with the Mont Cenis and the Haute Maurienne, was subject to the reign of the Franks, and bordered on the Longobard kingdom that went as far as the Chiuse, at the height of the Sacra di San Michele. The foundation of the abbey was decided by Abbone, governor of the area, in a document dated 726, preserved in the Turin state archives; in exchange for prayers for himself, with the consent of the religious authorities of the time, he founded a monastery named after Saints Peter and Andrew on land he owned, and the monks organised the reception of pilgrims and wayfarers. At the same time, the appointed abbot brought the three villages of the Cenischia valley, Venaus, Novalesa and Ferrere, under his religious and civil jurisdiction. On the founder's death, possessions in the Frankish kingdom extending as far as Grenoble, Lyon and Marseilles were granted to the abbey by will. Its position and the fact that it gravitated in the Frankish orbit, apparently determined the victory of the Franks against the Lombards of Desiderius at the Susa locks. There are even tales of several stays of Charlemagne at the monastery. It was one of the most prosperous periods for the abbey. In the 9th century, Emperor Lothair II confirmed the ancient privileges and exemptions to the abbot of the abbey, who was also bishop of Ivrea. The first monastic rule that the monks gave themselves was that of St Benedict, desired by Ludovic the Pious; the figure that dominated the century was St Eldred, from a very wealthy family, he donned the habit and worked in favour of the population of the area, so much so that the echo of his solicitude has remained in the legends. This was one of the most prosperous periods for the abbey, but thick clouds were gathering on the horizon; the Saracens were continuing their raids in Italy and France, and from the Côte d'Azur a horde was heading towards Novalesa, probably attracted by rumours about the riches of the Abbey. The Abbot of the time heard about it, so he gathered up the vestments and sacred furnishings, and the hundreds of volumes, and moved to Turin with the monks, finding hospitality in a church near the present-day Consolata. The Marquis of Ivrea granted the monks protection, giving them Breme, in Lomellina, where they moved, now out of the Frankish orbit, Italians to all intents and purposes. The Saracens reached the convent, sacked, destroyed and set fire to it, also claiming victims among the population. The chronicle of this period was narrated by an anonymous monk, who collected history and legends by mixing Franco-Germanic and Italian elements, creating a singular work. Meanwhile, in the 12th century, the Abbey of Breme had received jurisdiction over all the immense possessions of Novalesa, and through its Abbot it exercised its power over a vast area, while Novalesa was trying to recover. In the 13th century, the Abbey of Breme obtained exemption in civil and judicial matters, thus becoming subject only to the Imperial Curia, but was devastated several times by the Milanese. This caused the decline of Breme to begin, allowing Novalesa to try to regain its autonomy, but there were few monks. In the 15th century, the monastery was entrusted in administration (commenda) to a Franciscan who was also the confessor of Ludwig of Savoy. Unfortunately, this legal institution meant that the commendators, acting in their own interests, meddled in the affairs of the community. In the 16th century, the Novalesa was involved in the wars between France and Spain, with continuous interference by the Savoy family, who asked and obtained from the monks a relic of St Laurence to give to the king of Spain who wished to place it in the Escorial church. Pope Clement VII meanwhile restored the title of Abbey to Novalesa. Meanwhile, the commendators succeeded one another, until one of them, seeing that there were only three monks left, made contact with the Reformed Cistercians of St Bernard, who arrived at Novalesa when there was only one Benedictine left. For a time a curious situation arose, with the monks praying in solitude and the Dukes of Savoy appropriating the ecclesiastical benefices, until the Cisalpine Republic, established after the arrival of Napoleon, decreed the suppression of the Commenda and the ecclesiastical community: the monks were forced to take refuge elsewhere, and the goods were confiscated by the State. It seemed to be the end of the abbey, but once again history changed the course of events; Napoleon decided to strengthen the hospice at the Moncenisio pass because he needed it to get his men over the pass, so he entrusted it to the care of the abbots of Tamié, and imposed the observance of the Benedictine rule, also giving the hospice the Capuchin convent of Susa and the abbey of Novalesa. In 1818, the abbot who ran the hospice decided to reopen Novalesa, but for a short time, because in 1855, the Savoy government enacted a law suppressing all the abbeys in the Kingdom; behind this decision, there were certainly economic reasons, money was needed to finance the wars of independence Very few years later, in fact, the abbey was sold to a private individual who turned it into a hydrotherapy establishment, and in the church, instead of the organ, a small orchestra played... The initiative was unsuccessful, and the place later became the seat of Turin's Umberto I National Boarding School. In 1973, the Novalesa was finally purchased by the Region; it was in a pitiful state, and restoration work began immediately, and at the same time, invited by the Region, four Benedictine monks arrived from the convent of San Giorgio in Venice; little by little, prayer and work returned to punctuate the Abbey's hours.

The visit

On the right, as you enter, you pass through a room where there is a model of the complex, enter a courtyard and reach a small room where the monks sell products made by the order, books, and where you can start the guided tour; in theory the tour is free, but the most beautiful frescoes are inside the chapel of St. Eldrad, which is closed, only the guide can accompany you to see them. Next to the little shop there is also a small museum, whose windows look out onto the cloister, which has a beautiful well, and which is not part of the visit because it is for the monks, who are involved in the restoration of ancient books and documents. The visit begins with the church; during the restoration, the layout of the primitive church, dating back to the 8th-9th century, was found, as well as the remains of some medieval frescoes to the left of the high altar. The bell tower dates back to around 1730. Leaving the complex and going round it to the west, one re-enters the perimeter and can visit some chapels; the first one we encounter is that of the Holy Saviour, rebuilt in the second half of the 11th century. The oldest monks resided near this chapel; in the mid-19th century it was reduced to a private residence, and the frescoes were all lost, except for traces on the triumphal arch. Since 1963 it has been open for worship by the Associazione Combattenti, which has made it a shrine. The atrium was a tower built in the 8th 9th century and demolished to the height of the church's perimeter walls. Behind this chapel, high up, is the Chapel of St Michael, from the same period, which has frescoes, but having been used as a tool shed, is in a ruinous state and is in urgent need of restoration. Descending westwards, we reach the chapel of Saints Eldrad and Nicholas, built in the 10th and 11th centuries and preceded by a 17th-century atrium. The perfectly preserved frescoes date back to the 11th century; in the apse is the dedication of an Abbot of Bremen who ruled Novalesa between 1060 and 1096, which allows us to assign a certain date to the cycle. The most imposing figure of the pictorial cycle is Christ Pantocrator, seated on an almond, which according to the iconography of the time is the sweetest thing, the inside of a rough shell; at the sides are St. Eldred and St. Nicholas, of whom it seems that a French soldier brought a relic from Bari. The altar was once more centred, the present one was instead an ossuary containing relics of martyrs and blessed of Novalicia. The nave is ideally divided into two sections, separated by two painted columns, joined at the top by an arch; one section, the one towards the altar is dedicated to the cycle of St Nicholas, the other, towards the entrance, to that of St Eldrad, their lives and miracles. Above the entrance door, outside, is a beautiful fresco of the Last Judgement. Leaving the abbey, on the right, in the middle of the meadow, you can see the 8th century chapel of St Mary. Before leaving the abbey, you can take a tour of the small shop selling honeys, herbal teas and other products made by the monks; outside, opposite, there is a small shop selling local produce, cured meats and delicious cheeses...

Visit information

Please consult the timetable section on the site