Page 4 - Italian-American Herald - October 2023

4 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | OCTOBER2023 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD HISTORY
The Cathedral of Casamari has a basilica plan with a nave and two aisles, and is simplistic in keeping with the order’s vow of poverty. | ADOBESTOCK
Abbey: Named for statesman credited with saving Rome from collapse
Continued from front page
to the goddess Ceres. The abbey is located at Marianae (present-day Casamari), the birthplace, or at least a residence, of Gaius Marius, from whom the abbey later derived its name. Gaius Marius, who was born around 157 B.C. and died around 86 B.C., was a skilled military commander and politician who was lauded for saving Rome from the brink of collapse.
It was initially a Benedictine monastery and was a small community with a simple church dedicated to Saints John and Paul. There was an expansion of the buildings in the mid-11th century by Abbot Giovanni and the abbey became influential in the region due to the substantial number of donations
it received and the purchase of many
chapels in the area. Revenues from all these chapels were fundamental to the abbey’s maintenance.
In the 12th century, severe financial issues led to a long decline for the abbey. One reason for this was the contentious
rule of both Antipope Anacletus II and
Pope Innocent II as both fought for the papacy. During this period, one of the major religious figures of the day, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, promoted the Cisterian reforms of
monasticism as the best way to ensure loyalty and obedience to the Church.
He arranged the incorporation of Casamari in the new order, officially listing it in the Cistercian directory as the 29th foundation of the first order founded in France. Under the Cistercians the abbey and its church were completely rebuilt between 1203 and 1217. The abbey is still under Cistercian rule to this day and plays a vital role in the surrounding area. A plan of the abbey shows twelve distinct areas which are part of the overall structure.
The cloister court is the heart of the complex as it represents both the center of monastic life and the center of the complex. From the court, an open area resplendent with flowers, visitors can access the other areas of the complex. From the east side one can access the church through an entrance which was once where the choir would pass into the church.
The church, in the form of a Latin cross, has three naves supported by massive pillars. It is simplistic in design, in keeping with
the monk’s pledge of poverty and is devoid of paintings, statues and ornaments which could distract from prayer and reflection.
At the beginning of the right nave, another door leads back to the cloister from where
one can access the refectory. Here the monks take their meals in a grand area that has massive columns and arches which soar above the simplistic dining area below. This room’s original use was as a dispensarium or storage room for produce grown at the abbey.
From the refectory we walked across the cloister to access the capitular hall. This area is where the monastic community meets each morning to listen to martyrology, a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints arranged
in the calendar order of their anniversaries
or feasts. They will also read a chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict. Also in this grand area, the community elects its abbot by secret ballot, they receive initiates and discuss issues both personal and communal.
Further along this side are rooms hosting the museum and art gallery. Here we saw
a fresco, removed from the church of
Santa Maria di Reggimento, depicting “The Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket.” Another key piece was a somber, yet very realistic work entitled “St. Lawrence Distributing Alms” by Giovanni Serodine. There were also a number of archeological pieces which were primarily found in the area surrounding the abbey.
While the nature of the monastic order calls for a simplistic life the abbey does have
a repository which holds relics donated
to the abbey by various pontiffs during a period when the community was granted a dispensation from its strict rule of poverty. From the end of the twelfth century through the following, the abbey received objects from various abbots who went on diplomatic missions for the Holy See.
In 1572 relics were transferred and locked up in the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea in Veroli to protect them from military raids. The most important relics were brought out each year for processions during Ascension Thursday. Relics included crosses, the largest in silver with gold relief decorated with stones and glass from the 13th century. Another is the head-shaped reliquary of Sts. John and Paul which is in hammered silver and tinctures. Two stone reliquaries hold nine medallions in painted glass depicting saints connected to the order.
The next area we visited was the pharmacy which provided everything needed to maintain the health of the monks and for residents or travelers who arrived in need. The monks grew their own herbs and berries and learned how to brew leaves and roots for medicinal purposes.
The abbey also had a distillery to prepare liqueurs used for medicinal purposes. These