Once found in the open countryside but now a small agricultural oasis at the city gates, the Ciaravalle abbey was founded by Bernard di Clairvaux in the 12th century, and in late medieval times, it became a focal point in land reclamation works and agricultural restructuring that took place here in the Milanese lowlands.
The church was erected between 1172 and 1121 on the site of Bernardo's original building, it has three naves and splendid bell-tower (the famous 'Cirabiciaccola' added between 1347 and 1349), elegantly introduced into the main body of the church, between the nave and transept, the simple and austere architecture of the Cistercian order, but the brickwork and the wide, rounded arches, show clearly visible links with Lombardian architecture.
Inside, the beautiful frescoes by Bernardo Luini, the Campi brothers and Fiammenghinni and the wooden choir carved in 1645 by C. Garavaglia, bear testimony to the prestige and social importance that the abbey assumed over the centuries until its decline as a result of the departure of the monks in 1798 (who only returned in 1952) and also as a result of the demolition in 1862 of the cloisters to allow for the construction of the Pavia railway.
Today the abbey, is very popular, receiving 1 million visitors each year. It represents one of the cultural high points of all Milan and its surrounding area: the peace of the monastery and its surrounding meadows represent a small 'eden' at the city gates.
Milan