Visiting the Romanesque abbey of Saint Claudius at Chienti

Hi my friend!!
Today I want to introduce you to a particular place located in the province of Macerata in the Marche region in central Italy.
We are in the municipality of Corridonia, in the district called San Claudio, this area houses the Romanesque abbey of San Claudio al Chienti taking its name from the Chienti river that flows nearby.

This place is about 60 kilometers from my house, you can reach it by car by taking the A14 motorway and taking the "Civitanova Marche - Macerata" exit and then continuing along the road towards Macerata, after a few kilometers take the "Morrovalle" exit ”, then you can help yourself with the navigator and with the signs.

The abbey itself does not host major works inside but if you are passing through the area I still recommend a visit to this particular place especially for the originality of its shape considering that we are talking about a building that is over 1,000 years old and with a shape that recalls most northern European buildings.

The external area near the abbey is always well looked after by the people and associations of the place, also hosting ceremonies such as weddings, as there are many tourists and due to the fact that there is a hotel/restaurant right next door.

You can comfortably leave your car and start the visit.

The particularity of this abbey is given by the external shape and by the fact that it is composed of two superimposed floors that perfectly coincide in plan and volume, characterized by four central supports that determine the scheme of nine equal square spans. On the back there are three apses while two others are lateral, one on each side.

The two round towers give a vertical impetus to the whole structure which without these and the apses would appear as a cube.

You can enter and visit the floor below, it is the most used floor where ceremonies are also held, here you can admire two paintings from the mid-15th century by an unknown artist depicting Saint Claudius and San Rocco perfectly preserved considering their antiquity.

Saint Claudius for the Christian Catholic religion represents the protector of all bricklayers, in fact he is represented holding bricklayer tools in his hand.

SAINT CLAUDIUS

SAINT ROCCO

San Rocco for the Christian Catholic religion represents the protector of all the sick, the legend tells that he was a boy, a pilgrim born in Montpellier, who helped the sick without being afraid of contracting diseases and putting his life at risk, he is depicted while displaying a sore on his leg from an illness he contracted during his lifetime.

To go upstairs you can use the external staircase or the internal staircases inside the towers.

The staircase leads to the upper floor which is accessed through an Istrian stone portal with bundles of columns.
Or you can use the two small doors that lead to the towers with a spiral staircase running through them inside, along the climb from some openings you can admire the surrounding landscape and then get to the upper floor.
At the end of the towers there is a steep wooden ladder.
Inside is a succession of columns and arches which determine a certain spatial rigour.

At the top you can usually find a person who kindly explains the history of this mysterious place with the presence of a screen with images and videos.

I say mysterious because in recent decades historians and scholars following fairly reliable historical sources have advanced the hypothesis that Charlemagne may have been here and that his remains may be found under the abbey but for this part we let the scholars do their job.
Mysterious place also because there is not much news of its history.

If you are in the area I suggest you pay a visit to this place because it is a beautiful and unusual place for these areas.

Hi my friend!!!😀😉

All the photos were taken by me during family trips and all the stories are my personal experiences