Abbey of Sant'Antimo

77 – We set out, and walk slowly along the road leading to the town. The Starcia valley stretches out to my left, with the abbey at the centre. I stop to have an overall view, and my attention is struck by the various structural and architectonic differences existing between the abbey and the adjacent building. It is evident that the abbey complex has been restored, and I point it out to my friend, the brother, who explains, “When the Papal State rule came to an end in 1870, a sharecropper was living at Sant’Antimo. His presence gave the last glimmer of light that remained. He had made his home in the bishop’s apartment, using the Carolingian crypt as a cellar, the church as an agricultural storehouse and the cloister courtyard to keep livestock. That which had been erected by the monks in the 12th century, and that which the bishops had restored in the 15th century, was by then in a pitiful state.”
“Don’t tell me that such a precious jewel as is this abbey was about to collapse?!”
“Yes, I think that not much was needed to see the entire building crashing down bit by bit. As such, in 1870, when the abbey was put under jurisdiction to the commission of Fine Arts, it still preserved its original 12th century form externally, but there was not a single corner where danger did not threaten. Externally the church was completely surrounded by an embankment with a height that reached up to three meters on the northern side. The roofing was damaged in almost all the various sectors, particularly over the apse, where a speedy intervention was required. Above the south aisle, an additional storey existed, almost like a loggia, made up of three rooms. Thanks to some sketches made of Sant’Antimo by Ettore Romagnoli in May 1818, we have evidence that a third ambulatory had also existed. All the windows, including the north door, had been stopped up. The absidal section was certainly the most compromised and deteriorated, especially with reference to the decorative elements, such as brackets, columns, capitals and labels. The floor of the nave had been raised. Along the south aisle, for the first three bays, stoppages had been made almost as if to create some separate rooms independent from the rest of the church. These had been built to safeguard the static order and to support the shaky and unsafe arches. In the little central apse, there was an aedicule with ornaments in plaster. Also on the main altar, wooden baroque ornaments were found. All the twin lancet windows above the nave had been walled up. The entire floor of the church was deteriorated for the most part, and the north tribune, without any floor whatsoever.”
“You don’t say!”

78 – “No less than seven restoration campaigns were necessary to achieve what we view today. The architect Giuseppe Pantini – a real ‘restoration’ protagonist - guided the first two: from 1872-1873, and in 1874. He eliminated everything that distorted from the original design. He took away the third ambulatory, the loggia, and some walls built in the nave. He opened the big twin lancet window, lowered the floor of the church, and… very nearly eliminated too the peripheral walls of the tribunes, retaining that they were joined on to the 12th century structure in a latter period. Partini then redrew the church, and used the ‘face hammer’ abundantly, in order to confer it a regular and old aspect. He left aside the static sections of the monument, and did not worry about putting in glass panes on the 42 windows of the church; and left a great quantity of sculptured stones outside, which were to finish up in the walls of the neighbouring houses.
“The third campaign made in 1894, proceeded under the directive of the arch. Del Moro. He adjusted the roofing, put in windowpanes, made an intervention in the bell tower, systematized anew the entire floor of the side aisles, and put away the valuable sculptures. His intervention was less marked, but aimed at protecting and preserving the church.
“The fourth restoration campaign was realised by the arch. Moretti, and lasted from 1952-1955. This intervention was also less marked, but indispensable for safeguarding the immobility of the construction. He reinforced and replaced some columns in the zone of the Cabestany capital, where centuries-old underground streams had caused damages of a static kind.
“From 1961-1965, interventions were effected in the chapter hall, and in the ex-refectory, now the actual community house. From 1970-1973, the commission of Fine Arts of Siena remade the entire roof of the church, and renewed almost all the wooden trusses. The façade and the portal were reinforced, and the staircase and floors of the bell tower redone. During that period - also interesting to say - Zeffirelli filmed some scenes here from the life of Saint Francis, for the film entitled “Fratello sole e sorella luna” (Brother Sun and Sister Moon).
“The last campaign, for the moment, dates from 1976-1992 and consisted in minor interventions, more or less in every sector, all aimed at solidifying and protecting the building. From 1988-1992, the community house underwent restoration, so as to let us occupy it on 1st June 1992.”
“Quite incredible! More than 100 years were necessary to put Sant’Antimo in order.”
“Don’t think now that everything is finished. A monument with these dimensions constantly requires attention, and woe betide if the maintenance is omitted only for a few years!”