Abbazia della Santissima Trinità

The ruins of the Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity stand on the eastern hill of Mileto Antica. Founded by Roger I, the Benedictine abbey became the burial church of the Hauteville family and an influential religious centre in Norman Calabria.

Why it matters

Roger I founded the abbey between 1062 and 1070. Archbishop Arnolfo consecrated its church on 29 December 1080. Roger and his wife Eremburga were buried there, and the abbey held extensive lands and ecclesiastical privileges. Pope Paschal II presided over a re-consecration in July 1101; Richard the Lionheart stopped at Mileto in 1191.

What to notice

The Norman church had three naves, a projecting transept, a central apse flanked by two smaller apses, a dome over the crossing and a square bell tower. Pointed arches reflect the varied influences of Norman Calabria, while columns were reused from ancient Vibo Valentia. After the 1659 earthquake the monastery was rebuilt on a smaller plan between 1660 and 1698. The 1783 earthquake brought the abbey's use to an end. Drawings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries help reconstruct its lost plan.

Context and history

The abbey began as a priory dependent on Santa Maria di Sant'Eufemia. A bull of Urban II in 1098 placed it directly under papal protection, and later popes confirmed its privileges. This independence led to jurisdictional disputes with the bishops of Mileto and neighbouring abbeys. The abbey was joined to the bishop's revenues in 1717; in 1766 its external assets passed to the Academy of Sciences of Naples. The Ministry of Culture describes its church plan as a model for later religious architecture in Calabria and Sicily.