Chiostro di Santa Sofia

The Romanesque cloister of Santa Sofia in Benevento belongs to the former Benedictine abbey beside the Lombard church, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Why it matters

The cloister preserves the artistic and monastic history of one of Benevento's most important religious complexes. Its twelfth-century rebuilding and carved capitals connect the city's Lombard heritage with later Romanesque sculpture.

What to notice

Forty-seven columns of marble, alabaster and granite support arcades with horseshoe arches. Carved capitals and pulvins show a varied repertoire of figures, symbols and scenes. A twisted column and a braided column are among the distinctive forms within the ensemble.

Context and history

The abbey probably began as a ducal foundation in the mid-eighth century. The surviving cloister was rebuilt in the twelfth century under Abbot Giovanni IV, whose name appears in a dedicatory inscription. It later became part of the Museo del Sannio's lapidary collection. Church and cloister are included in the UNESCO site 'The Lombards in Italy: The Places of Power', inscribed in 2011.