Abbey of San Vittore alle Chiuse

The abbey of S. Vittore alle Chiuse stands in an elevated position, on the left bank of the river, near a Roman bridge with a fortified approach; an arrangement which also affected the structures of the monastery, which even today resemble a fortified structure more than a religious building. As a date for the present building, historians favour the end of the 11th century. Restored several times (in 1923, 1925 and 1930), the church of S. Vittore alle Chiuse has ancient origins. It is recorded in documents that mention it in the early years of the 11th century, when the monastery already existed (1007 and 1011). Three other churches in the Marche region follow the architectural structures of this monument, albeit with some distinctive features: S. Claudio al Chienti, S. Maria alle Moie and S. Croce di Sassoferrato. To explain the building system adopted here (pilaster strips and blind hanging arches, octagonal lantern tower and cross-vaulted roofing), scholars of Romanesque architecture refer to a “Lombard-Po Valley” matrix, but they also point, for the ground plan, to buildings in southern Italy, especially in Apulia, such as S. Maria di Siponto and what remains of the small church of Castro in the Salento, the small temple of Seppannibale and the abbey churches of Valenzano and Conversano. From this, bearing in mind that S. Vittore delle Chiuse was a Benedictine conventual church, and therefore a meeting point for monks coming from other Italian and also European regions, would derive the particular character of this building, a synthesis of the meeting of northern Po Valley experience with Oriental-style and Byzantine traditions. The impression of standing before a fortified structure is reinforced by the presence of the massive cylindrical tower and the tall keep, probably added in a building phase after the construction of the church, which enclose the entrance atrium of the present building. The latter is fairly homogeneous in its present architectural structure. It is built of small blocks of white limestone alternating with pinkish stones, without any search for particular colour patterns. The blocks are laid with mortar 1–1.5 cm thick. Of the three eastern apses, only the right-hand one has a decoration of blind arches, while both the central and the left-hand ones show signs of rebuilding in the upper parts. This same apse is, so to speak, the most complete of the three: it has a central rectangular window and is decorated by two flat pilaster strips that start at a height of about one metre above the base and divide the curved space into three sections. Each pilaster strip encloses two small arches at the top. The central apse has a pilaster strip that breaks off in the upper section, where the signs of rebuilding appear, while of a second only a short stump remains in the lower part; the window of this apse is splayed and topped by a trefoil arch. The northern apse on this side, too, has only the lower part of the two original pilaster strips. The north side of the building, in the section nearest the apse end, retains 8 blind arches, divided by a pilaster strip, the remains of the decoration that must originally have run along the whole side. The apse of the pseudo-transept has the same constructional features as the minor apses on the east side, but lacks the Lombard arches. Continuing towards the square bell tower, the side has the remains of other blind arches. Also on this side is a low entrance with a double round-arched frame. As for the south side, the part near the eastern apses has very homogeneous facing masonry. The decoration consists of a central flat pilaster strip that divides the space into two sections. Here too, as on the north side, each section encloses four decorative arches. The central apse of the south side has two pilaster strips that do not enclose arches, here too a sign of probable rebuilding, and a window. Continuing towards the façade of the church, some corbels can be seen which suggest that at some time there was an external structure leaning against this side. At the crossing of the arms of the building rises an octagonal lantern tower decorated with blind arches arranged alternately in twos and threes on each side. To the west, the entrance is marked by two towers: the southern one round, partly incorporated into the atrium of the church, the northern one square, taller and massive in appearance (perhaps once a fortified tower rather than a simple bell tower). The actual entrance of the church is preceded by an open atrium, inside which part of the circular tower and the true entrance of the church can be seen, with a round arch outlined by a series of blocks of light-coloured marble, emphasised by small terracotta blocks laid on their long, narrow side. The church is entered by going down two worn steps. One is immediately struck by the brightness of the space, due also to the whiteness of the material used in the construction, divided into nine (cross-vaulted) bays by four massive cylindrical columns, also of white stone, resting on square plinths and decorated just above the base by a band obtained by setting stones obliquely with respect to the surface of the rest of the column. The capitals are cubic, with simply chamfered corners. The semi-dome of two of the three apses (excluding the one on the south side) is decorated with a sawtooth cornice. No other decoration “disturbs” the simplicity of the whole. The presbytery is raised by 3 steps (about 60 cm). The presence of the lantern tower, at the crossing of the arms, conveys a sense of considerable height that cannot be perceived from the outside.