The Monastery of San Benedetto Po

I last went to visit the Monastery complex of San Benedetto Po near Mantua a few weeks before the 2012 earthquake centred near Modena that severely damaged the complex. I did not have enough time to visit the inside on that occasion. Finally most of the complex has been restored and now can be visited.

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

The Monastery was founded by the Lombard Canossa family in 961 and remains of the early church can still be seen in the form of a couple of mosaics. The building have been altered several times over the centuries; the last major works being carried out in the sixteenth century. The Monastery was suppressed on the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte. The place then went into a slow decline.

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

I started in the Monastery church that bears the mark of the Renaissance architect Giulio Romano who rebuilt the church around the existing Romanic and Gothic structures. The highlights of  this first part were the Romanic mosaics and the wonderful sacristy.

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Sacristy, Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

The church also hold the tomb of Matilda di Canossa a Lombard queen who hold an important place in both German and Italian Medieval history. The monks in a moment of finacil hardship in the 16^th century sold her remains to the church in Rome where she was reburied in S Peters and remains the only woman buried in that church.

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Tomb of Matilda di CanossaMonastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

I was surprised by the San Simeon Cloisters built in the late fifteenth century. The architecture seemed so clean and almost modern to me. There are also some interesting frescoes in the corridors, including a depiction of a lion that the Gonzaga’s in Mantua kept chained up in front of their palace to discourage unwelcome visitors.

 

San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

San Simeon Cloisters,San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

In the old Refectory there is a fresco by Correggio and some curious frescoes can be seen in the San Benedetto Cloisters.  There is also an interesting museum of country life which I did not have time to explore.  

Cloister "dei Secolari", San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

Cloister "dei Secolari", San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

Cloister "dei Secolari", San Simeon Cloisters,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery Library, San Benedetto Po,MN

The Refrectory, San Benedetto Po,MN

 I passed an interesting afternoon in this sprawling complex.

 

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN

Cloister San Simeone, San Benedetto Po,MN

Cloister San Benedetto, Monastery church,San Benedetto Po,MN