SHARRYLAND
The Abbey of Chiaravalle on the outskirts of Milan
A beautiful Cistercian monastery in a stretch of irrigated countryside that survived the onslaught of the city
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What is it and where is the Abbey of Chiaravalle
The Abbey of Chiaravalle, a large complex between Romanesque and Gothic once entirely surrounded by walls, is the pearl of a circuit of abbeys that embraces Milan from the south and has reclaimed, with the technique of marcite, the irrigated plain rich in resurgences. It includes Morimondo, Mirasole, Viboldone and Monluè. The main church has three naves, the Romanesque facade is preceded by a 17th-century portico.
Why it is special the frescoes of the fifth and seventeenth centuries.
The Gothic interior is mighty because of the massive columns supporting the structure, made necessary by the marshy ground on which the abbey rests. Banished from the initial Cistercian rule that called for sobriety of decoration, the church, between the 1500s and 1600s, was frescoed by the Fiammenghini in the counterface and left transept and by Genovesino in the right transept, where, at the top of a staircase, a beautiful Madonna by Luini can also be seen. Of the earlier decoration, by a pupil of Giotto, only a few traces remain on the beautiful octagonal tiburium.
Other treasures: the wooden choir and a curious frescoed detail
In the center of the church you can admire the pearl of the monastery, a splendid wooden choir from the mid-17th century with high reliefs on the life of St. Benedict, cherubs and floral decorations. Before you leave, don't miss, in the fresco on the counter-façade, the model of the early church, in the hands of St. Bernard, which depicts the portico as it must have been before the 17th-century makeover.
Not to be missed: the cloister and towers of the abbey
Wonderful is the cloister, with its pointed arches, capitals all different and double corner columns, with the knot symbolizing the union between heaven and earth and between human and divine, as in the nature of Christ. On one side opens the chapter house where there are two graffiti, attributed to Bramante, illustrating the Milan of the time. From the cloister there is a beautiful tour of the bell tower, and the octagonal-shaped tower, or Ciribiciaccola, as the Milanese affectionately call it, which reaches the considerable height of 56 meters. It is a triumph of hanging arches, small columns, pinnacles, mullioned, three- and four-light windows, crowned by a cone holding the cross.
A bit of history
An early church was built in 1135 at the request of Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux, who was in Milan at that time to persuade the Milanese to side with Innocent II against the antipope Anacletus; a little later the church was rebuilt and consecrated in 1221 while the tower was added in the mid-1400s; between 1500 and 1600 the interior was covered with frescoes. With the arrival of Napoleon the monks were removed and the abbey fell into decay; only in 1952 did the Cistercians regain possession.
Fun fact: the monks' mill and the birth of grana padano cheese
If you choose the guided tour, on Saturday and Sunday, you can also visit the mill, where the monks ground grain and where grana pad ano is said to have been born, around the year 1000. Land reclamation initiated by the monks had made the plains so productive that cattle breeding had increased dramatic ally. In order not to waste the precious resource that was then milk, the technique of making caseus vetus was developed , a hard cheese that could be kept much longer than the soft cheeses that had previously been produced. The recipe was an incredible success with both the feudal courts and the people, so grana became a valuable food reserve in case of famine.
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