In the sixteenth century, the Monastery of Polirone reached an exceptional splendor, so much so that among the numerous guests, there were illustrious personalities such as Martin Luther, Paul III, Giorgio Vasari, Palladio, and Torquato Tasso ... #tuttitaly
San Benedetto Po is an important tourist center in Lombardy, included in the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy. It owes its fame to the Polirone abbey, one of the most critical Cluniac sites in medieval Europe, founded by Tedaldo di Canossa in 1007 on the island that once stood between the Po and Lirone rivers.
History of the Abbey
Significant was the contribution of Matilda of Canossa, buried there in 1115.
In 1077, the countess donated the abbey to Gregory VII, who united the complex to the monastery of Cluny in Burgundy, increasing its miniature activity, building churches and abbeys, and hosting famous people.
In 1420, the monastery joined the newly established Congregation of Santa Giustina of Padua, taking on the shape and structure we still admire today.
At the beginning of the 16th century, Polirone becomes an active intellectual center, hosting critical theological and philosophical studies. In those years, Gregorio Cortese commissioned work for the monastic refectory from Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio, and the restoration and expansion of the abbey basilica from Giulio Romano.
The abbey reached its maximum splendor in the sixteenth century and hosted illustrious personalities such as Martin Luther, Paul III, Giorgio Vasari, Palladio, and Torquato Tasso.
In 1609, a disastrous flood of the Po caused incalculable damage, followed, twenty years later, by the damage perpetuated by foreign armies.
In 1797, with the arrival of the Napoleonic troops came the much-feared suppression and sale of the artistic heritage of the complex, which ended up being dispersed, except that contained in the abbey church and the precious manuscripts taken to the Mantua library.
Gastronomy
To be savored are the delicious pumpkin tortelli or tagliatelle with duck ragout.
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