San Benedetto Vecchio
Abbey of San Benedetto Vecchio
Description
The abbey stands along the provincial road from Pietralunga to Reggio, in the hills, far from any town or village.
The monastery, called "Sancti Benedicti prope Eugubium" but also known as San Benedetto Vecchio or Monte Pellio, is first mentioned in a document of 1191, in a list of possessions granted by Emperor Henry VI to other prelates of Gubbio.
The original structure dates from the 11th century, and it prospered until the early 15th century. As in similar cases, such as the abbey of San Bartolomeo in Camporeggiano, the municipality of Gubbio protected the integrity of the building and the safety of the religious by creating a fortified tower or "fortilitium" in the monastery, home to a small military garrison. This is documented from the 14th to the 15th century.
The Rationes decimarum tell us that in 1295 it paid the Papal collector the sum of 15 lire and 12 Ravenna denarii. Having belonged to the Olivetans (Iacobilli), in 1451 it was given in commendam and later became a parish church.
Architecture
The structure of the building changed a great deal over the centuries.
It was altered many times, and the original three-nave basilica was cut down at the front. Thus, while the main nave and the right-hand nave extend two bays towards the façade, the left-hand nave has been lost.
The façade, which must have extended across the width of all three naves, now matches the width of the central nave and the right-hand nave, whose first two bays have been turned into a sacristy.
The roof is trussed, and the oldest part of the building is the apse.
The naves are divided by square pillars supporting round arches.
The capitals of the columns are decorated with motifs such as rosettes, foliage, and starred and circled flowers.
The presence of portals with pointed arches on the façade, on the right side and inside suggests that alterations took place at least as far back as the 13th century, and these changed the building considerably.
In the structure there are also clear signs of reused elements, perhaps from the first 11th-century church, such as the capitals supporting the transverse arch at the start of the presbytery.
