Cistercian Abbey of Santa Maria di Follina Founded in the 12th century, it was for many centuries a spiritual and peaceful island amidst the historical vicissitudes that bloodied the medieval Venetian lordships.
The basilica dates back to the first half of the 1300s.
Built on a previous Benedictine structure from the 12th century, the current basilica has the typical Latin plan design with the façade facing west and the apse facing east, just as the Cistercian symbolism predicted. With the arrival of the Cistercians the monastery reached its peak of splendor and power, above all thanks to the relationship with the Da Camino family.
However, from the mid-14th century a period of decline began, which culminated with the suppression of the monastery two centuries later under the dominion of the Serenissima.
Since 1915, the Servants of Mary have settled in the monastery of Follina and still live there today.
Inside the basilica there are various valuable works including: the fresco by Francesco da Milano depicting the "Madonna with Child between two Saints" dating back to 1527, a notable wooden crucifix dating back to the Baroque age and above all the sandstone statue of the Madonna of the Sacred Chalice (perhaps of Nubian origin from the 6th century) kept in the neo-Gothic wooden altarpiece which has always been the object of veneration and pilgrimage by the faithful from all over Italy.
The splendid cloister of the abbey, older than the rest of the structure and perfectly preserved, was completed in 1268, at the time of the settlement of the Cistercian monks. Arranged in a square, it has the traditional fountain in the centre. The escape of the columns is full of movement: twisted, paired, simple or knotted, they have capitals of varied designs and a multiplicity of friezes. Various rooms open onto the cloister: the sacristy, the chapter room and the large refectory, now a war memorial.
The complex is completed by the bell tower dating back to the time of the thirteenth-century church: with a square plan according to the Lombard scheme, it has a large mullioned window with white stone columns on each side of the belfry.
The Abbey of Follina can be visited every day from 7.00 to 12.00 and from 14.30 to 19.00.
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