10.20.05
Abbey of San Michele. Voltorre. Italian lakes.
The Abbey of San Michele. Voltorre.
The Abbey was recorded for the first time in 1154 in a document by Pope Anastasius IV (Pope from 1153 to 1154) in which its dependence on the Abbey of Fruttuaria is confirmed.
It was built on the site of an early medieval settlement, probably a Lombard (or even older) tower, as is revealed by its being dedicated to St. Michael. The period of the monastery’s greatest wealth lasted until the middle of the XV century when in following with the more general decline of the Benedictine Order it fell prey to ineluctable decadence. And its patrimonial situation worsened considerably due to the monks’ lack of discipline (indifferent to the administration of their possessions). Neither was the institution of the Commendam of help - that is, the entrusting of the administration of the ecclesiastical benefice to another institute which was located nearby). Its patrimony continued to wither until 1519 when the monastery and its competency were ceded to the Lateran canons of Santa Maria Della Passione of Milan. Under the direction of the Laterans the complex of Voltorre was transformed into an agricultural undertaking which it continued to be until its sale in 1797. From this date on the complex forfeited its monastic functions and was dismembered in various lots. The buildings were transformed into homes, farmhouses and deposits for agricultural tools and equipment.
It was only during the 1960’s - and more definitively during the 1970’s - that the cloister was restored thanks to the resolute intervention on the part of the Province of Varese. On three sides this cloister is made up of 46 columns with sculpted capitals whereas the fourth side has arches in brick. On entering the building the diversity of styles and materials immediately makes one aware of the complex history which characterized its construction. A hypothesis proposes that the ‘primitive’ tower and church, which existed before 1000, were initially flanked by a building set against the southern side of the church (the side of the cloister which on entering we pass through first). Later - during the XII century - one had the construction of the second and third sides of the cloister. In the XIII the fourth side was built which also incorporated the tower. Successive events led to the construction of the service buildings, intended both for the monastic life itself as well as for the agricultural activity carried out by the community. Finally, when the property passed into the hands of the Lateran the rural yard behind the building was enlarged, the church was added to in height and its interior decorated with stucco and plaster work.
With respect to the communication roads the present-day position of the Abbey of Voltorre does not render justice to the important role it played in the past. Today it is faraway from the most widely used means of communication. And it is also surrounded by modern buildings which, externally, do not allow us to understand the role it once had (now only suggested by the bell tower). Although totally different is one’s impression of the complex from inside the cloister, restored by the Province of Varese.
Italian Lakes Tourist Information Guides – Tourism in Varese.
