San Bartolomeo Abbey

San Bartolomeo Abbey

The abbey of San Bartolomeo in Carpineto della Nora, in the province of Pescara, was a Benedictine abbey in Abruzzo, declared a national monument in 1902. Since December 2014, the Ministry for the cultural assets and activities are managed through the Abruzzo Museum Complex, which in December 2019 became the Regional Directorate of Museums. The abbey was founded in 962 by the will of Berardo or Bernardo, Count of Penne, on Mount Pietrarossa, on the eastern slopes of the Gran Sasso. Important information about the foundation and properties of the Benedictine abbey can be found in the chronicle written by the monk Alessandro, which tells the story of the monastery from its origins up to 1193. Most of the historical information relating to the monastery is derived from this. For example, in 1066 the founder’s nephew, who ironically was also called Berardo or Bernardo, occupied the Abbey, its service buildings, its fields and completely destroyed the areas of the Monastery occupied by the Monks, forcing them to flee and leaving as the only religious guardian of the place, his brother Samson, who had previously become a monk; in the same year, however, the Normans led by Ugo Malmozzetto (one of the captains of Roberto di Loritello, in turn right-hand man of Roberto il Guiscardo) who had begun the conquest of coastal Abruzzo in 1061, dismissed Berardo from the County of Penne, taking place, and freeing the Abbey of St. Bartholomew from its tyranny. In the Chronicon there is no mention of reconstructions, although the oldest parts of the building seem to date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, in addition to the restoration carried out in the 1970s by the Superintendence; the bell tower, for example, was finished during the 11th century by Abbot Erimondo, who died in 1074. The first abbot was Benedetto, chosen by Count Berardo, and under his regency the arm of San Bartolomeo reached the monastery, an event so exceptional that recalled the bishops of Teate, Valva, Penne, Marsica and Aprutius to the abbey. Few traces remain of the abbey, while the church has been completely restored. The facade, flanked on the left side by a square tower, dates back to the 12th century and is the oldest part of the structure. The facade has a portico opened by two arched arches arranged asymmetrically. Furthermore, on the roof there is a wind bell tower at the triumphal arch of the central nave. The portal that leads into the church has a large frame decorated with reliefs representing an inhabited branch, with the insertion of animal figures between the spirals of the branch. The back has a rectangular apse decorated with a single lancet window and a wheel rose window. On the right of the church are some ruins of the disappeared monastery, previously covered by an embankment. The church has a plan with three naves, divided by three round arches supported by rectangular pillars and covered by a trussed roof. The longitudinal hall is separated from the presbytery by three pointed arches. The presbytery area, dating back to the 13th century, is made up of a transept divided into three rectangular bays and covered by cross vaults, a rectangular choir and a tripartite crypt with quadrangular pillars. The altar is supported by four small columns with capitals decorated with animal figures. The presbytery and the arms of the transept are illuminated by single lancet windows decorated with twisted columns.