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| The monastery of Montefalcone |
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From left:
the convent seen from above. Montefalcone, with
Bianello castle in the background. |
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From the
municipality of San Polo, laying on a roundish hill, at
the feet of the higher fortified hills of Quattro Castella,
you can admire the conventual building of Montefalcone,
transformed today into a large restauration place. The
tradition says that St Francis from Assisi founded here
a small monastery, as it is witnessed by the famous "Chronica"
by fra Salimbene de Adam, one of the main books of the
late latin literature . The cloister of Montefalcone would
be then one of the first franciscan settlements in Emilia.
The religious house of the minor friars was abolished
in 1652. The old monument went then to the jesuit Fathers
who restaured and enlarged the original building and built
there the "Collegium Nobilium", a place of study
and rest and summer holiday. In 1859 the jesuits leave
and the college goes to the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.
Abandoned in the first decades of the century, the imposing
monuments was submitted to a deplorable process of degradation.
Thanks also to a considerable contribution on the part
of the National government and of some indipendent firms,
the Matilde di Canossa S.p.A., could afford the restauration
works of the historical monastery and of the church, consigning
it to a touristic destination , for hospitality and organization
of cultural activities. As soon as the works will be finished,
Montefalcone, will be the propulsive heart of the matildic
area. |
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