Home

Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in November 2011.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Ferdinand Gregorovius' Walks - Subiaco: a Walk to S. Scolastica
(detail of a fresco at S. Onofrio)

In July 1857 Ferdinand Gregorovius, a German historian best known for his studies on medieval Rome, visited Subiaco to look at some documents in the library of the Benedictine monastery of S. Scolastica. In the following year a German paper published Subiaco das älteste Benediktinerkloster des Abendlandes, a short account describing this monastery and that of that of S. Benedetto (aka Sacro Speco), which is located nearby (you can read the English translation by Dorothea Roberts in Bill Thayer's Web Site). Gregorovius provided his readers with a detailed historical background of the two monasteries.

S. Maria della Febbre
S. Maria della Febbre

S. Scolastica is within walking distance (2 miles) of Subiaco and along the road there are several chapels which contribute to preparing the traveller for the visit of the monastery. S. Maria della Febbre (Fever) is an elegant Renaissance building which is now part of a private property; its hexagonal shape is typical of small churches built to celebrate cases of miraculous recovery from sickness; they are more frequently named S. Maria della Salute (Health).

S. Mauro
(left) Cappella di S. Mauro; (right) a view of Subiaco and of the Aniene River gorge

After S. Maria della Febbre the road starts to rise along the eastern side of a gorge; one can hear the murmur of the Aniene River, but not see it because of the rich vegetation; by looking backwards one can see Subiaco with all the houses grouped around the castle. The road replaces an ancient path which ran inside the grounds of the villa built by Emperor Nero.
St. Maurus was one of the first disciples of St. Benedict and he is known for having rescued another monk who had fallen into a pond.

Ruins of Villa di Nerone
Ruins of Villa di Nerone

Ruins of Nero's villa can be seen along the road, but they fail to convey a proper idea of its size and appearance; the buildings were spread over a vast area which exceeded that of Villa Adriana. The water of the Aniene River was exploited to create artificial waterfalls, fountains and the three lakes after which Subiaco (Sublaqueum) is named. According to Pliny Nero, who was born in a villa by the sea in sunny Antium, decided to build a villa in a rather cold region because Charmis, a doctor from today's Marseilles, theorized the advantages of taking cold baths. Nero however left his new villa and never returned there after a lightning strike hit a building where he was staying.

S. Scolastica seen from the road from Subiaco
S. Scolastica seen from the road from Subiaco

At a turn of the road S. Scolastica suddenly appears on the edge of a ravine; notwithstanding the bell tower it does not call to mind a site of peace, but rather a fortress. It is one of the twelve monasteries built by St. Benedict for his disciples. The oldest part of the monastery is that near the bell tower, whereas the long building in the left part of the image is a XVIIth century addition.

Fresco in the cloister of S. Francesco
Fresco in the cloister of S. Francesco at Subiaco portraying St. Clare of Assisi repelling the Saracens of Emperor Frederick II at S. Damiano

S. Scolastica is the only one of the twelve monasteries which was rebuilt after having been sacked by the Saracens in the IXth century; the Saracens had a permanent settlement south of Terracina and from there they made raids into the interior of the peninsula. Saracinesco, a small town near Subiaco, was most likely founded by Saracens; after the Norman conquest of Sicily in the XIth century many Muslims were relocated to southern Italy; they were known for being skilled archers and they fought for Emperor Frederick II.

S. Scolastica: seen from the road to S. Benedetto
S. Scolastica seen from the road to S. Benedetto

In origin S. Scolastica was dedicated to St. Sylvester, who was pope at the time of Emperor Constantine. Later on the monastery was dedicated to Benedict and Scolastica, his twin sister; in the XIth century the abbots built a detached section of the monastery on Sacro Speco, the site where Benedict lived as a hermit; this section became known as S. Benedetto whereas the main monastery was called S. Scolastica.
The monastery is a complex of buildings which includes three cloisters, a church, a hostel for pilgrims and a library which contains copies of the first books printed in Italy. They were printed in 1465 by Arnold Pannartz and Conrad Schweynheim, two German ecclesiastics who set a printing press in the monastery. In the last page of their books they wrote Deo Gratias (Thanks God) the traditional words by which the amanuenses celebrated the completion of their work. They did not get along too well with the monks however and a few years later they moved their printing press to Palazzo Massimi in Rome.

S. Scolastica: (left) bell tower; (right) interior of the church
(left) Bell tower; (right) interior of the church by Giacomo Quarenghi

Because of its long history S. Scolastica is a conglomeration of very different styles; the tall Romanesque bell tower was built in the XIth century and it replaced a previous tower; the church was built in the Xth century, but it was redesigned in Gothic style in the XIVth century. In 1769 the interior was entirely renovated by Giacomo Quarenghi, an architect best known for the many palaces he designed at St. Petersburg. Quarenghi was an admirer of Andrea Palladio and he spent several years in Rome studying the ancient buildings: the decoration of the niche of the apse is reminiscent of that of Tempio di Venere e Roma.

S. Scolastica: Cosmati cloister
(left) Cosmati cloister; (right) a column with an elaborate decoration which includes a devil's face which is shown in the background of this page

When Gregorovius saw the oldest cloister of S. Scolastica he was rather disappointed as he compared it with that of S. Paolo fuori le Mura which was designed at the same time as that of S. Scolastica. Three generations of the Cosma family worked at the construction of the cloister; the design is very elegant, but the decoration with the exception of a few columns is not very elaborate.

S. Scolastica: Gothic cloister and portal of the church
(left) Portal of the Gothic cloister; (right) detail showing angels playing the lute

In 1362 Abbot Bartholomew III, who was appointed at the end of a period of turmoil, invited foreign monks to settle at S. Scolastica; many of them were Germans, and for more than a century the majority of the monks were foreigners; this had an influence on the style of the second cloister where a large portal was designed following patterns of Catalan cathedrals.

S. Scolastica: Renaissance cloister
Renaissance cloister

The third cloister was built over a long period of time (1580-1689) and it was largely reconstructed after it had been damaged by bombs on May 23, 1944.

Move to Sacro Speco (S. Benedetto) or return to Subiaco.
Click here to see the monasteries in the 1905 paintings by Alberto Pisa.
Click here to visit the official website of the Benedictine monasteries of Subiaco.

Introductory page on Ferdinand Gregorovius
Other walks by Ferdinand Gregorovius:
The Roman Campagna: Colonna and Zagarolo; Palestrina; Genazzano; Paliano; Anagni
The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino; Alatri
The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone; Segni; Norma; Cori
On the Latin shores: Anzio; Nettuno and Torre Astura
Circe's Cape: Terracina and San Felice
The Orsini Castle in Bracciano


Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.

To search this site you can use
PicoSearch