THE MYSTERY OF SAINT JACOPO'S MONASTERY

   Today we aren't far from the regional capital of Abruzzo, but we are indeed in a place forgotten by almost everyone.

    On the limits of the mountain territories of Lucoli,  Roio Piano and Bagno in  L'Aquila's region we find the remains of what appears to be, as it always has been said, a small monastery. 

When... Historical notes   

     Many were guilty in the kingdom, according to King Louis of Hungary, that unpunished kept the reins of the power after the assassination of his brother Andrea, to induce him to arm an army and regain the realm of Naples. Having failed by sea, the passage through Italy was given to him with the help of another brother who was a bishop that earned him the friendship with all the major barons of the Abruzzo lands.  Therefore King Louis of Hungary succeeded crossing the territory without encountering any resistance. While greeted festively by the cities of Aquila, Sulmona and Benevento, his army grew more and more along the way.

      Before moving the troops from Benevento to Naples the King stopped at Aversa to visit the Convent of Murrone, where his brother had been assassinated.

In that same place, the King accused Duke Charles of Durazzo and had him killed for the complicity of that crime. Subsequently, he entered Naples and ordered a new trial for the murder of his brother.

     Sometime later a newborn army of mercenaries belonging to Duke Guarnieri violently invaded and plundered the territory.

      Shortly before, "about one hundred years (1254)", by the will of the emperor Frederick II of Swabia the city of Aquila was founded. Built for many interests, but above all for an anti-feudal function, by request of the castles landlords and inhabitants who wanted to get rid of the heavy harassment they were subjected to. Afterward, the city was renamed "Aquila degli Abruzzi" and finally named L'Aquila (1939).

       According to the local tradition, it's narrated that the city formation was due to the union of 99 villages in the territory, but in reality, they were much less, each of which constituted a neighborhood that remained tied to the village-mother and was considered part of the same for about a century.

     However, all this was nothing compared to what took place in the port of Messina around 1347. In fact, first in the middle and after in the extreme east, even on the European continent the BUBONIC PLAGUE  spread.

     In the meantime, "Giovanna" recruited the company of Duke Guarnieri that after a difficult task entered Naples and took the Hungarian power. Although he succeeded in entering Naples, he could not subjugate the entire territory, in fact, in Puglia, he found Baron Ulrich Wolfart, who had succeeded in putting together a numerous army with the promises of better wages and free looting.

The expenses were paid by the population, who saw their lands devastated by the mercenaries of both armies, and had most of their possessions raided. Cities were destroyed, their inhabitants tortured and imprisoned until they revealed the hidden places where their treasures were kept.

     During this period (1294) Peter da Morrone became pope Celestine V and donated to his faithful a Plenary Indulgence, where the city of L'Aquila was directly interested in the event. As a result, it was also involved in the unfortunate vicissitudes of the poor pope, so the city then shortly went approaching its destruction.

     After the Battle of Benevento (1266), which ended the domination of Manfred's son King Federick II of Swabia, the city was rebuilt by Charles I of Anjou.

     The inhabitants of the castles participated in its reconstruction in order to obtain the reverence of the King.

    Afterwards, in the reconstruction, Aquila and its territory were divided into four quarters or neighborhoods, headed by collegiate-churches with a "chief of the quarter" of the most important premises.

     During this time, thirty churches began to emerge in the city, including the magnificent Abbey of Collemaggio.

     The Celestinian events and the administrative unification granted by Charles II gave great impetus to the economic growth of the city which, with the subsequent establishment of an annual fair in conjunction with the Great Pardon, entered the great European trade circuit.

    In the XIV century, a volume growth of business and the increased circulation of money made it possible, with the sovereign's grant, for the city to have its own mint.

However, Aquila continued to be the scene of internal and external struggles, the hardest of which took place between 1423 and 1424, within the intricate dynasty of the Angevin. On that occasion, the city was besieged for thirteen months by the   Captain of Venture "Braccio Fortebraccio da Montone" driven by Alfonso of Aragon.

     However even if endured by the struggles, the city survived as a free Municipality regaining its ancient splendor.

     Aquila became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples, thriving in commercial and cultural exchanges with the most important Italian and foreign cities.

Its prosperity did not change with the advent of the Aragon (1442).

     During this period, with their powerful religious and civil work protagonists of Aquila's history were "S. Bernardino of Siena", S. James of the Marches and S. John of Capestrano.

Now let's have a moment of reflection and ask ourselves in which part of the history we probably begin what has become our "mystery" today.

Where.. The Site

     At the boundaries of mountain territories, census districts of Lucoli, Bagno and Roio Piano in L'Aquila city of Abruzzo. We find the valley of "Santo Iago" along the municipal road of Pescocroce. Leaving the village Poggio di Roio, passing by the Monastery of S. Lawrence of the Serre and following the path that crosses the ridges, continuing towards the Mountain of Bagno, a pleasant and lovely walk of a few hours will lead you to the ruins.

What... The Ruins

     An "archaeological site" I would say of small size but with obvious signs of a small L-shaped building, presumably made up of four compartments, of which two with barrel vaults. On the back of the complex,  there are signs of a door connecting two compartments.

Some stones, still on the ground, which were probably part of the perimeter walls, have openings and slots necessary for ventilating and lighting the compartments.

Who..   Independent  Monastery    

     At the moment there is no written historical record on the origins of this site known as the Monastery of Saint Iago (Jacopo). The only sources of information about its origins have been handed down by the oral tradition.

     Before the Norman conquest and the development of the house of Swabia, one of the hypotheses on the mystery of its foundation could be sought in the will of some monastery around the XIII century, located on the first buttresses of the mountain slopes of Bagno (S. Lawrence of the Serre, St. Spirit of Ocre, St. John of Collimento), to build a small monastic complex to his own dependencies and to serve the people who worked on the mountains.

Why…THE MYSTERY

     Why isn't there any written trace of the monastery?

The old cadastral maps do not contain any monastery ... and yet the map returns with the name of the area: "Valle Saint Iago" and there are several popular sayings of an existing monastery on these mountains.

     Was it founded spontaneously because of the passage from the neighboring communities of shepherds and pilgrims, who converged and gathered together in those areas to then stand and join in prayer?

Was it perhaps a goal for Pilgrimage?

Or perhaps a goal of Spiritual Retreat and Meditation?

Exile for some important person?

Did someone hide in it?

Was something hidden in it?

 

Downlaod the file pdf of Saint Jacopo's Monastery with the photos of the site.

 

Continue following  "The Secrets of Abruzzo"   on the Mystery of the Monastery of St. Jacopo.

Author

Giuseppe Libero

Contact

Giuseppe ABRUSCA SALVATORI

(giuseppe.abrusca@gmail.com)

Sources only for the historical research

-www.cronologia.leonardo.it

-articoli de IlCapoluogo.it