Complesso monumentale di San Vincenzo al Volturno

On the banks of the Volturno below the Mainarde mountains, the excavated complex of San Vincenzo al Volturno preserves a large early-medieval monastic settlement. Its remains include a basilica, crypts, refectory, kitchens and washhouse.

Why it matters

San Vincenzo was one of the major monastic centres of early-medieval Europe. In the 9th century the abbey had ten churches and about 350 monks. Charlemagne granted the monastery privileges in 787. Excavation has revealed a substantial monastic layout, including both the basilica and spaces used for the community's daily life.

What to notice

San Vincenzo Minore preserves courts, gardens, kitchens, a refectory and a covered washhouse. The larger basilica, San Vincenzo Maggiore, was consecrated in 808 and measured about 64 metres long by 28 metres wide. Beneath its main altar is the annular Crypt of Giosuè, which once guarded the relics of Saint Vincent. The 11th-century Chapel of Santa Restituta stands against the basilica's north side.

Context and history

Christian worship on the terrace predates the monastery. The monastery took shape during the 8th century and was founded by three Beneventan nobles, Paldo, Taso and Tato. An earthquake damaged the buildings in 848; in 860 the emir of Bari, Sawdan, exacted a tribute of 3,000 gold coins. In 881 Arab mercenaries serving Athanasius II, duke-bishop of Naples, sacked the abbey. The community later withdrew to San Vincenzo Nuovo on the opposite bank, and the original site fell into ruin. The monastery's history is preserved in the Chronicon Vulturnense, compiled around 1130 by the monk Giovanni and now held in the Vatican Apostolic Library.