Discovering Lazio: Farfa

The origin of the Abbey dates back to the 6th century, with St. Laurence of Syria. Destroyed by the Lombards, it was rebuilt around the end of the 7th century by the monk Thomas of Maurienne, the second founder of Farfa. In the early 8th century, the monastery came under the protection of the Duke of Spoleto Faroald II; thanks to his donations, it became almost a small independent state.

Siding with the Franks against the Lombards, it received the privilege of independence from any secular and religious power from Charlemagne in 775; its splendour and wealth thus increased considerably. In the year 800, Charlemagne, on his way to Rome to be crowned emperor, stayed in the Abbey. From the 9th century, the scriptorium at Farfa became the boast of the Benedictines for their tireless work in transcribing manuscripts. The decay of the Carolingian empire and the Saracen incursions at the end of the 9th century marked a long period of decadence for Farfa. For seven years, Abbey was subjected to assaults and finally captured and burned.

The last conquest of Farfa was by Abbot Hugo I (997-1038), during the reign of the Emperor Otto. In 999, the Cluny reform was introduced. The abbey church, built on the remains of the earlier one, dates from the end of the 15th century, from the time when the Abbey came under the influence of the powerful Orsini family. A 14th century portal with Gothic additions leads to the courtyard opposite the church. Above the portal we can see a fresco attributed to Cola dell'Amatrice (1508) and the Orsini coat of arms. The façade of the church has fragments of pagan and early Christian sarcophagi.

The interior is divided into three naves with two rows of Ionic columns. The wooden casing ceiling with the Orsini coat of arms dates from the second half of the 15th century. The internal wall of the façade has the Universal Judgement painted in 1561 by Flemish artist Henrik van der Broek, using the rare technique of oil painting directly on the wall. In 1599, Orazio Gentileschi painted the pictures with St. Ursula, the Madonna and Child and the Crucifixion of St. Peter in the three chapels of the left nave. In the right nave we can see the venerated image of a Madonna and Child, called the Madonna of Farfa (13th century). In the 19th century, it was coated by a raised brass coating leaving just the faces visible. In the transept we can see part of the original floor from the first half of the 9th century. The ceiling of the transept and choir is decorated with splendid grotesques of the Zuccari school (1576).

The abbey complex includes the small cloister called Longobardo, the great cloister (17th century), the Crypt shaped like a half ring, with a fine Roman sarcophagus at the entrance, the Museum and the splendid Library.