- Subiaco, Italy
Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Subiaco-Stemma.gif
official_name = Comune di Subiaco
name = Subiaco
region =Lazio
province = Rome
elevation_m = 408
area_total_km2 = 63
population_as_of =2007
population_total = 9332
population_density_km2 =
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|41|56|N|13|06|E
mapx = 41.726
mapy=13.093
frazioni =
telephone = 0774
postalcode = 0028
gentilic = Sublacensi
saint = San Benedetto
day =June 17
mayor = Pierluigi Angelucci (since June 2006)
website = [http://www.comune.subiaco.rm.it (Official site)]Subiaco is a town in the
Province of Rome , inLazio ,Italy , twenty-five miles from Tivoli alongside the riverAniene . It is mainly renowned as tourist and religious resort for its sacred grotto (Sacro Speco ), in the St. Benedict's Abbey, and the otherAbbey of St. Scholastica . It is also famous as the first city in Italy where books were printed, in the 15th century.History
Ancient settlers of the area were the
Aequi , an Italic people. In 304 BCE they were conquered by the Romans, who introduced their civilization and took advantage of the waters of theAniene river. The present name of the city comes from the artificial lakes of the luxurious villa that emperorNero had built: in Latin "sublaqueum" means "under the lake", and the name extended to the town that had grown nearby. After the fall of theRoman Empire , the villa and the town were abandoned, becoming almost forgotten ruins.When
St. Benedict , at the age of fourteen, retired from the world and lived for three years in acave above the riverAnio , he was supplied with the necessaries of life by amonk , St. Roman. The grotto at the site became the cradle of theBenedictine Order - St. Benedict was able to build twelve monasteries and to place twelve monks in each. The one at the grotto seems to have had a short existence; in 854 we find a record of its renovation. In this year,Pope Leo IV is said to have consecrated an altar to Sts. Benedict and Scholastica and another toSt. Sylvester . Another renovation took place in 1053 under Abbot Humbert of St. Scholastica. Abbot John V, created cardinal byPope Gregory VII , made the grotto the terminus of a yearly procession, built a new road, and had the altars reconsecrated.Shortly before 1200 there existed a community of twelve, which
Innocent III made a priory;John XXII in 1312 appointed a special abbot. A new road was built by the city in 1688. The sacred grotto is still a favourite pilgrimage, and onOctober 27 1909 ,Pius X granted a daily plenaryindulgence to those who receiveHoly Communion there and pray according to the intention of the Holy Father (Acta. Ap. Sedis, II, 405). The Abbey of St. Scholastica, about a mile and a half below the grotto, was built by St. Benedict himself (about 520), and endowed by the Roman patricians, Tertullus and Æquitius. The second abbot, St. Honoratus, changed the old monastery into a chapter room and built a new one, dedicating it toSts. Cosmas and Damian . It was destroyed by theLombards in 601 and abandoned for a century. By order of John VII it was rebuilt by Abbot Stephen and consecrated to Sts. Benedict and Scholastica. Demolished in 840 by theSaracens and again in 981 by the Hungarians, it rose from its ruins.Benedict VII consecrated the new church, and henceforth the abbey was known by the name St. Scholastica. In 1052,Leo IX came to Subiaco to settle various disputes and to correct abuses; a similar visit was made by Gregory VII. Special favour was shown byPaschal II , who took the abbey from the jurisdiction of theBishop of Tivoli and made it an abbacy nullius. Its temporal welfare was also a care of the popes. Thus, among others,Innocent III , at his visit, in 1203, increased the revenues of the abbey. With the decline of religious fervour, strife and dissension arose to such an extent that Abbot Bartholomew in 1364, by command of the pope, had to dismiss some of the incorrigible monks and fill their places with religious from other monasteries. Numbers were brought in from Germany and for many decades Subiaco was a center of German thrift, science, and art. Still, it seems the discipline was not satisfactory, forUrban VI (1378-1389) abolished the abbots for life, took away from the monks the right of election, and gave the administration and revenues to a member of the Curia.Pope Callixtus III , in 1455, gave the abbeyin commendam to a cardinal. The first of these was the Spanish Cardinal Torquemada and the second Roderigo Borgia (laterAlexander VI ), who remodeled the Castrum Sublacence, once the summer resort of the popes, and made it the residence of the commendatory abbot. Many of these abbots cared little for the religious life of the monks and looked only for revenue. As an example,Pompeo Colonna ,Bishop of Rieti ,commendatory abbot since 1506, squandered the goods of the abbey and gave the income to unworthy subjects. On complaint of the community, in 1510,Julius II readjusted matters and restored the monastic possessions. For spiritual benefit a union had been made between Subiaco and theAbbey of Farfa , but it lasted only a short time. In 1514. Subiaco joined the Congregation of St. Justina, whose abbot-general was titular of St. Scholastica, while a cardinal remained commendatory abbot. Even after this union there were quarrels between Subiaco and Farfa, Subiaco andMonte Cassino , the Germans and the Italians.After this little is known about the abbey and the city until the 19th century. In 1798-1799 and 1810-1814 French troops entered the city, plundering the monasteries and the churches. In 1849 and 1867
Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered the city in his plan to destroy the temporal rule of thePope : in 1870 the city become definitively part of the Regno d'Italia.In 1891, a Benedictine abbey founded earlier in Northern
Arkansas ,United States , changed its name to Subiaco in order to more closely align its teachings and practices to those of the famous abbeys of the Italian namesake.The German printers
Sweinheim andPannartz established in Subiaco a printing press and printed "Donatus pro parvulis", "Lactantius" (1465) and "De Civitate Dei " (1467). Those were the very first books to be printed inItaly .In the first years of the 20th century the area was improved with the connection to a
railway , ahydroelectric plant and anaqueduct .Electricity was brought to the houses and a hospital was built. InWorld War II Subiaco was bombed byAllied planes.Main sights
In addition to the two abbeys, also noteworthy are:
* the "Rocca Abbaziale" ("Abbots castle"), a massive medieval edifice largely rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries.
*The church of "Saint Francis" (1327), housing notable paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries.
*The neo-classical churches of "Sant'Andrea" and "Santa Maria della Valle".Notable people
People born in Subiaco, or with important links to the town, include
*Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519)
*Francesco Graziani (born 1952), Italian international footballer
*Gina Lollobrigida (born 1927) , film actressExternal links
* [http://www.comune.subiaco.rm.it Official Site of the City] (in Italian)
* [http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Rome%20&%20Central%20Italy/Subiaco/Subiaco.htm Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace: Subiaco Monasteries Photo & History Page]
* [http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/subiaco-san-benedetto.htm Sacred Destinations: Subiaco] - article and photo gallery
* [http://www.simbruinastagna.com/ Simbruina Stagna History and Art of Subiaco] (Italian site)
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