34 – In this church, light, sound and stone exist together, to create an enchanting simbiosis. Each element permeates, moulds and lives in the essence of the other. The church is empty, but not silent. The walls throw back, without respite, the chant heard and absorbed by them, continually, for centuries. Its stones hold a world of melody and prayer which at every moment can free itself, to float through space and time, to touch, unperceived, the mind and the heart. This percipience is so tangible, that the music stave of a Gregorian melody still marks the wall of the ambulatory! Sant’Antimo may be an empty church, but ever remains a living church.
35 – Brother Giovanni stands at the centre of the nave, and says, “The light flowing down from the large twin lancet window, guides the eye towards the main altar, centre of every church. Surrounded by seven arches, the altar stands at the middle of the choir. It has the form of a sarcophagus, according to an ancient tradition. The altar is reached by three steps, upon which the ‘stone charter’ which recalls the donation of Count Bernard is engraved, and which continues on the pier to the left of the altar. The choir is illuminated indirectly by the light from the radiating chapels, as frequently found in the Romanesque epoch. The choir floor dates to the 15th century. It is decorated with a number of half-moons, which form the coat of arms of the Piccolomini family.”
36 – Now the brother moves to the right of the altar, to stop in front of a little railing at the head of a steep staircase made of high irregular steps, and says, “Here under the main altar, lies a little crypt, ventilated by a tiny window. It is the spot where the relics of the saints were placed. Strange to say, even if this crypt is placed under the main altar of the upper church, it is not in conformity to the ‘canons’ of 12th century architecture. Moreover, it has an anomalous position with reference to the general plan of the building. Are we thus in the readapted, primitive oratory, where the tomb of the holy martyr Antimo had stood for centuries? Where are his relics now? Stolen? Lost? Or still hidden here? The monks of the 12th century deliberately built the altar of the upper church exactly on the place where the body of the saint was laid. The throbbing heart of the abbey is thus under the altar. About 17 centuries of history are condensed here in this place. Here begins the very essence of the life of the abbey of Sant’Antimo, to remain miraculously intact up to the present day. The console of the little altar is a marble tombstone slab, dating back to the first centuries of the Church. It pertains to a young Christian, and bears an inscription in memory of the Consuls Rufinus and Eusebius (347 ac.). The 16th century fresco (author unknown) depicts the Deposition of Christ, King of martyrs, into the tomb.”
37 – “Do pardon my ignorance, but could you please explain to me who Saint Antimo was?”
“It is well to know,” the brother explains, ”that this name is borne by more than one saint, but only two of them can compete in claiming the title of patron saint of this abbey. With reference to the first one, the “Acta Sancti Anthimi” relates the story – perhaps embellished by legend – of a priest named Antimo, imprisoned at the time of the Emperors Diocletion and Maximianus (304 –305). He healed, and so converted to the Christian faith Pinianus, the husband of Lycinia, niece of the Emperor Gallienus. From that moment, Pinianus did all that was possible, to protect Christians from persecution. Hidden in the villa of his protector, on via Salaria, Antimo also converted a pagan priest of the god Silvanus, and all his family. Accused of having destroyed the simulacrum of that divinity, Antimo is thrown into the Tiber with a stone around his neck, to emerge unharmed. Decapitated by order of the Consul Priscus, he was buried in the oratory where he habitually prayed. A Bolland historian of the 17th century surmises that in 781 Pope Hadrian I probably gave the relics of Saint Sebastian and Saint Antimo to Charlemagne, who then donated them to the abbey on the act of foundation. That the emperor had really brought these relics from Rome to the Starcia valley, is a fact yet to be verified. In medieval Tuscany, it was common usage to attribute the donation of relics of saints to Charlemagne. Saint Antimo of via Salaria was an authentic martyr of 304. Since 1658 his relics are venerated at Naples in the church of Sant’Antimo. The people of Castelnuovo dell’Abate celebrate his feast on 11th May.
38 – “The discovery of the cult of a Saint Antimo, which is not the homonymous saint of via Salaria, is quite recent. He was a deacon of Arezzo, who suffered martyrdom in 352 (or 304), together with the second Bishop of the city, Saint Donato. In fact, on examining the Aretine litanies, Saint Antimo appears in an ancient list of Aretine martyrs, and companions of Saint Donato. The first text found with reference to a Saint Antimo, which is not the Sabine one, is that of the “Passio Donati”. There are various editions, the oldest of which dates back to the first half of the 6th century. In this text, the story of the miracle of Saint Donato is narrated. The Bishop was celebrating Mass with his two deacons – Antimo and Asterio – during an ordination rite. Some pagans entered the church while Antimo was giving the communion from a glass chalice, and with violence they threw it on the ground, shattering it to pieces. After having put together all the pieces, Saint Donato found that one piece was still missing at the bottom of the chalice, but unconcerned about the matter, continued to serve the wine, without even a drop falling out of the chalice.
“This fact so astonished the pagans, that it caused their conversion. A month later, Saint Donato was arrested and put to death with other Christians, while liturgical books, holy vessels and vestments were destroyed, as often came about during the persecution of Julian the Apostate. The companions who received the crown of martyrdom together with Saint Donato, were all buried at Pionta, a hill of Arezzo, while Saint Antimo was buried elsewhere. But where? Why not retain that Saint Antimo, in order to flee from the persecution, tried to find refuge in our Starcia valley (which during the 4th century was part of the Diocese of Arezzo) there to receive martyrdom and then be buried? Saint Donato and companions have their feast-day on 7th August.
“As time went by, and changes were brought about in this diocese (first of Chiusi, and then of Siena), Saint Antimo, deacon of Arezzo, became lost to memory, so permitting the Saint Antimo of via Salaria, to replace him as the abbey’s patron saint.
“But my dear Francesco, I’m certain that in heaven these two martyrs of Christ are now united together in joy and happiness, for having shared in praising God by testifying so great a love for him.”
39 – On leaving the crypt, the visitor comes across the re-used door of the sacristy, opened in the 15th century during the period of the Bishops. The side posts and architrave bear sculptured decorations – ‘girali’- on which avian figures are placed. The architrave is unfinished.
The brother stands still for a moment, and then continues again, “In the construction of this church, alabaster (called onyx in these zones), and travertine (from the local quarry of Castelnuovo dell’Abate), were utilised. These precious building materials were employed in executing the more noble elements, such as columns and capitals, while the walls were constructed with blocks of ‘spongy’ stone dug out from a quarry found along the road to Sant’Angelo in Colle. One of the characteristics of the alabaster is its translucence. At Sant’Antimo, therefore, the light penetrates, and passes through the stone to enliven its natural splendour.
“In the ambulatory this aspect is evidenced at a maximum when the sunbeams play across the stones in the morning. This is the most beautiful part of the church, the richest in decorative elements, where the best quality of stone was used. It is here, in this part that surrounds the altar – the heart of the Eucharistic celebration – that the builders began their work, to express the best of their art, and finish off each item with extreme attention. Each arch is embellished by its capital and column. Worth noting as well, is the small altar of the radiating chapel, continually watched over by the four eagles on the capital directly behind it. To the right of this chapel, the frescoes of two saints adorn the two blind arches. One saint is a pontiff (perhaps Saint Gregory the Great), the other a martyr saint (Saint Sebastian). The frescoes are attributed to Spinello Aretino (15th century), or else to a painter associated with Taddeo di Bartolo (14th-15th centuries).”