SHARRYLAND
Mirasole Abbey, an oasis of peace and silence
A fortified complex in the Milanese countryside chronicles the spirituality experienced by the monastic order of the Humiliati
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Mirasole Abbey: half farmstead, half monastery in the Milanese countryside
In the countryside on the outskirts of Milan lies the fortified complex of Mirasole Abbey, half farmstead and half monastery, founded by the Humiliati order. The complex is organized around a large courtyard accessed by a 13th-century tower. Standing here one can see how these structures were true microcosms: on three sides of the courtyard face the workshops, farm buildings and workers' dwellings, on the other the church and cloister, onto which the refectory, chapter house and administrative offices open.
The spiritual heart: the church of St. Mary of the Assumption
The church, built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption, is very simple, as befits the Order of the Humiliati. The facade features a rose window, a low arched doorway, and a beautiful terracotta frieze under the roof. The interior has a single nave; of the 15th-century frescoes that were to cover it, only those in the apse remain: God Enthroned and Mary in the mandorla ascending to heaven among angels. A side chapel, however, preserves a painting of a 16th-century nativity.
Not to be missed: the cloister and its symbols
Simple and striking is the cloister, with arches supported by light-colored stone columns and capitals with stylized acanthus leaves. Two of these depict a radiant sun surrounded by a crescent moon. For some, the sun is Christ and the moon is the Church and the faithful who embrace it and shine its reflected light. For others it refers to agricultural work. What is certain is that this symbol is very reminiscent of that of Sol Invictus, a deity of Roman memory. On the four sides of the cloister, four trees: the palm, pomegranate, fig and olive, recall the plants mentioned in the Gospels.
A bit of history
The grange of Mirasole (this is how the monastic agrarian communities were called) was founded at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries by the Humiliati; the order was abolished in 1571 and the grange ended up in the hands of the Olivetan monks. With the advent of Napoleon, it was entrusted to the Fondazione Policlinico di Milano, which in 2016 entrusted its management to two charities, for the reception of mothers with children in a state of fragility and training and job placement projects.
Fun facts: who the Humiliati were and what life was like in the grange of Mirasole
The Order of the Humiliati originated in the 12th century, a period that saw the birth of several church movements calling for a return to the poverty of the Gospel. Many of these were branded as heretics, and the Humiliati, too, initially suffered this judgment, though they were later reintegrated into the church by Pope Innocent III. Friars, nuns, and unmarried laymen of both sexes lived, worked, and prayed together in Mirasole with their families. Between craft and agricultural work, the grange was completely self-sufficient.
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