CHIARAVALLE ABBEY
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Abbey marking the transition to Gothic architecture in Italy.
Unexpectedly, Chiaravalle Abbey rises up in the middle of a charmless countryside, marked instead by the presence of large industrial plants. Intended by Bernard de Clairvaux (hence the name Chiaravalle) in 1135, the building marks the transition to Gothic architecture in Italy. The use of red brick ( cotto lombardo), however, reveals a continuing link with Romanesque art. The white stone decoration typical of the Cistercian style is particularly evident in the bell tower's colonnettes, helping to give it vertical momentum. Completed in 1340, the polygonal bell tower soars into the sky and can be seen for miles around. The porch in front of the façade is a 17th-century addition. The three-aisled interior, topped by a dome decorated with 14th-century frescoes, features a beautiful Madonna and Child (1512) frescoed by Bernardino Luini, as well as several other murals painted by the Campi and Fiamminghini families in the 16th and 17th centuries. Take time to admire the beautifully decorated 16th-century chapels. Of particular note is the wooden choir, sculpted by Carlo Garavaglia between 1640 and 1645. The right-hand aisle leads to the cloister, which has retained all the charm of the past. The guided tour takes the visitor through the various key areas of the monastery complex; the ticket includes a tour of the abbey, and a supplement will add the discovery of the old agricultural mill and the Saint-Bernard chapel.
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