The Abbey of San Pastore was built on a hill between 1255 and 1264 over a pre-existing Benedictine church in present-day Contigliano (province of Rieti). The complex, a fusion of Romanesque and Gothic styles, extends around a cloister, and includes the church, chapterhouse, parlour, sacristy and the Abbot’s apartment.
The church layout is typical of 13th century Cistercian abbeys, a Latin cross with chapels alongside the choir. The small Baroque apartment on the eastern side was commissioned by the abbot, Cardinal Fulvio Astalli, in 1686. The bell tower that rises over the Rieti valley was once used for defensive purposes.
Part of the so-called “line of Clairvaux” (the seminal abbey founded in 1115 by St. Bernard of Clairvaux), the Abbey was very wealthy in the 14th century, owning many properties in the area, reclaiming and farming land and often supporting the inhabitants of Rieti in times of need.
Extensive restoration work maintained and enhanced the monument’s original historical appearance.
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