Abbey of Sant Ántimo, Tuscany
Founded as a Benedictine abbey in the early 800’s, Sant Ántimo was largely rebuilt in romanesque style after 1117. Among the unusual features of the monastery church are remainders of the earlier Carolingian construction, which peek through here and there. Another interesting feature of the church is the use of alabaster in the predella around the altar. The stone was placed to catch and react to the rays of the sun on August 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. The results must have dazzled both monks and visitors alike, as the one slide illustrates. Throughout the middle ages the abbey attracted a steady stream of pilgrims; but in the late 1400’s the monks left the abbey. Only in the last twenty years have Norbertine canons come to reside there, and they pray the liturgy of the hours in the abbey church each day.
