The Abbey of Farfa, our trip for today, seems to immediately impose peace and serenity to the visitor, with its majestic composure. Forty minutes by car separate the Residences of the Borgo di Cicignano from this treasure chest of art and history that rises in the hamlet of the same name in the municipality of Fara in Sabina, in the province of Rieti.
An ancient history
Today the small village of Farfa, which is called like the small river around which it rises, seems projected around its most famous and representative building, and it must be said that it has been so since its origins.
The Abbey was particularly important in its time from a political point of view. It was in the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa that Charlemagne was welcomed, on the journey that led him to Rome on Christmas night in 800 AD, where he was crowned emperor.
This building was built, it is believed, in the fourth century on an older building dating back to Roman times, on the initiative of San Lorenzo Siro, and then rebuilt, following its destruction due to the Lombard invasion, by the monk Tommaso da Moriana, in the seventh century, who apparently received a request from the Madonna. Thus, his dedication to the Virgin Mother.
Its history, marked by the temporal power linked to the Emperor, was also characterized by invasions and destruction, and then linked to that of the powerful noble families, in particular the Orsini.
Upon its formation, the Italian State confiscated it, and is now used as a national monument since 1928, thus not only as a place of worship.
A place of worship, art and culture
Its vocation as a centre of culture, typical of a medieval Abbey, is particularly present and concrete also in the fact that its premises houses a rich and prestigious library, in line with what was once a scriptorium. It is embellished with an ancient background that boasts five thousand volumes dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.
The church, as it currently stands, is the result of important restoration work dating back to the fifteenth century: the fifteenth-century portal, dominated by the Orsini coat of arms, leads the visitor to a large room consisting of three aisles of ionic columns, which hold a coffered ceiling and which lead, on the back wall, to a 1561 oil painting by the Flemish artist Henrik Van Der Broek, depicting the Last Judgement. Other precious canvases, which contribute to enriching the Abbey’s ornaments, are painted by Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), depicting Sant’Orsola, the Madonna and Child and the Crucifixion of St. Peter.
Worthy of mention, is the crypt of the seventh and eighth centuries, where a Roman sarcophagus of the second century is housed.
How to get to the Farfa Abbey
The address for your navigator is: Via del Monastero, 1 Farfa, comune di Fara in Sabina.
As previously mentioned, Farfa, from our Cicignano residence, is separated by a short trip on the Strada Regionale 313 and Provinciale 46 in the direction of Via del Borgo.
On your trip to Farfa, we also recommend that you take the time to visit the charming village that surrounds the Abbey. You’ll no doubt enjoy its artisan shops and stop at the restaurants and trattorias, for a typical Sabine lunch.
As always, we will be at your disposal for any suggestions and indications necessary to make your experience in Farfa a trip worth cherishing.
