Tuesday 8 July 2014

Follina and its historic Abbey on the Prosecco route


The whole Veneto region in northern Italy is peppered with historical monuments of every epoch.  Set right in the middle of the Prosecco route, an hour north of Venice, is a small village called Follina.   Not only is this a quaint little pit-stop for travellers to rest between Prosecco tastings - there aren't any vineyards here, but the restaurants are particularly noteworthy - it boosts a treasured Italian National Monument, the Follina Abbey.

The town is set on a plain immediately in front of a huge mountain and there stood a monastic complex dating back to 12th century.  Very much in the look and feel of a Cistercian monastery (as in those most often seen in France and Northern Spain), with a cloister, stone pillars, wooden and tiled roof, a beautiful church constructed around the same period, all rich in metaphors and Christian symbolisms.  The Italian Inquisition of 1542 in these northern provinces no doubt put the future of the monastery in jeopardy, and its importance declined from then on until it was resettled by the Servite Order (or Servants of Mary) exactly 100 years ago, when it was finally declared a national monument by the Italian government.

This certainly is worth a stopover when you are in the region, perhaps even to stay a night in order to enjoy the restaurants.  Here is a wonderful guide written for (or by) students that you should bring along when visiting the Abbey: http://www.tronweb.it/sulle_tracce_dei_monaci/follina/descrizione_inglese

The Hotel Villa Abbazia is diagonally across the Abbey and offers limited terrace seating in its restaurant with a stunning view of the Abbey and the mountains. 














 



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