Santa Maria in Porclaneta: a jewel of Art and Spirit in the heart of Medieval Abruzzo

Santa Maria in Porclaneta: a jewel of Art and Spirit in the heart of Medieval Abruzzo

The church of Santa Maria in Val Porclaneta is one of the most interesting examples of Abruzzese Romanesque art, in which Arab-Spanish, Byzantine and Lombard influences converge.

Perched on the slopes of Mount Velino, at 1,022 meters high, between ancestral silences and enchanted woods, hides a pearl of the Romanesque Abruzzo: Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta. This ancient oratory, set among the peaks of the Sirente-Velino Regional Natural Park, is not only an architectural testimony of the past, but a place that still vibrates with art, spirituality and mystery.

A Journey in Time: the History of the Church

Founded around 1000 A.D. as a dependency of the Abbey of Montecassino, Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta was built on a previous rock hermitage. Its name, "Porclaneta", evokes the Latin roots of the word porcus (pig), suggesting a territory once dedicated to pastoralism, immersed in a wild and wild landscape.

The monastic presence in the site is certainly prior to 1080, the year in which "Count Berardo son of Berardo, Count of the Marsi, donated to the monastery of Montecassino the monastery of Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta and the castle of Rosciolo with its appretinences.

The church, in Romanesque style, reflects in its sober facade and basilical structure the spiritual essence of monastic life: simplicity, rigor and deep connection with nature.

Immediately after the Benedictines began the reconstruction of the abbey complex in the forms that we can still admire today; unlike the church, there is no trace of the monastery.

Despite the membership of Cassina, the church does not reflect the characteristic style that distinguishes the foundations linked more or less directly to the commission of the abbot Desiderio di Montecassino.

Through the portico you reach the main entrance: a portal with rather simple lines in which the presence of a pretty ogival bezel stands out, frescoed in the fifteenth century with a representation of the Madonna and Child between two adoring Angels.

Along the right side of the church it is possible to admire a small portal, adorned with a carved form depicting a Madonna with a blessing Child, a work attributed to the master Nicolò. An elegant biperched window and two small single-phores made in the 14th century interrupt the wall curtain.

Noteworthy is also the external decoration of the apse with cornices, worked with acanthus leaves and palmettes.

The church has a basilical plan, divided into three naves, three ladders enter the presbytery, raised because of the rectangular crypt that develops in the space below.

The capitals offer a repertoire of Romanesque motifs; "classic" Benedictine frames, on the model of San Liberatore a Maiella, alternate with girali, palmettes, flowers, animals. To the right of the entrance is the tomb of the master Nicolò, with the tombstone carved by the same artist. A Gothic arch closes the sarcophagus, adorned with figured panels in relief, depicting an Agnus Dei between two angels and a rooster and a sphinx with a human face.

Masterpieces Engraved in the Stone: Ciborium and Ambone

Two works make Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta an essential destination for every lover of medieval art:

• The ambone, attributed to the artist Nicodemo (the same author of the famous ambone of San Clemente a Casauria), is a true narrative sculpture. The ambo of Rosciolo is one of the most beautiful examples of medieval sculpture. Made in 1150, it is a weaving of zoomorphic motifs and biblical figures: lions, eagles, snakes and prophets chase each other in a symbolic dance carved in the white stone of the Marsica.

  The stone structure is covered with stucco, worked with skilful mastery by the masters Roberto and Nicodemo, who proudly sign the work remembering the year of execution, 1150. Roberto di Ruggiero is known for having built a few years earlier the ciborium of San Clemente in Guardia al Vomano, while Nicodemo di Guardiagrele, who appears for the first time in Rosciolo, created in 1158 the ambone of the church of Santa Maria del Lago in Moscow and in 1166 the ambone of the church of Santo Stefano in Cugnoli.

  The capitals are decorated with bearded human figures intertwined with sinuous plant elements, on the parapet of the staircase, scenes depicting deacons and testamentary subjects, such as David fighting with a bear, the dance of Salomè and Jonah swallowed by the whale.

• Ciborium, on the other hand, is a very delicate work. Its light, almost Gothic structure creates a canopy that seems to defy gravity, supported by slender columns and decorated with floral and geometric motifs reminiscent of oriental carpets. It is the point where heaven and earth touch, where the Eucharist was celebrated as a bridge between the divine and the human. The ciborium, attributed to the magister Roberto around 1150, is adorned with little men who hold the long beard with their hands, an archer who is about to hit the prey, a hunter who hits a basilisk, another little man, bitten by a dog, who squirms in an unlikely pose.

• The iconostasis The oldest element of liturgical furnishings among those present in the church is the beautiful iconostasis, composed of two stone slabs, probably executed by different artists, surmounted by four columns that support a wooden architrave.

  Inside the church there are interesting frescoes, the work of local artists, which depict various sacred subjects, often repeated. The largest group of them dates back to the fifteenth century and includes, among others, seven representations of the Madonna and Child enthroned, located on the pillars of the naves, as well as on the walls of the transept and the presbytery on the third pillar of the central nave. In the central nave are St. Michael the Archangel, two images of Saint Anthony the Abate. A Crucifixion of Christ preserved in the presbytery can be dated to the thirteenth century.

The Light as an Invisible Painter

One of the most fascinating elements of Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta is the play of natural lights. The small single-phores, deliberately oriented, filter the sunlight in the morning hours creating suggestive light beams that cross the aisle. This grazing light enhances the sculptures and creates a mystical atmosphere, as if the stones themselves were coming to life.

Ideas for Artists and Soul Travelers

Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta is a place that feeds the imagination. Artists, writers, photographers and dreamers can find endless inspirations:

• A medieval texture workshop: every capital, every relief, every stone you're told a story. For those who love sculpture or drawing, it is a real open-air museum.

• Soundscape: silence here is a tangible element. Interrupted only by the wind or the singing of a lonely bird, it can become a score for musicians looking for contemplative atmospheres.

• A natural film set: the contrast between the rigor of Romanesque architecture and the opulence of the surrounding landscape offers perfect shots for short films, documentaries or artistic reports.

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To find oneself

Visiting Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta is not only a cultural act, but also an introspective journey. Far from mass tourism, this small temple invites you to rediscover the sacred, to dialogue with nature and memory.

In a fast-paced world, Porclaneta is a break, a breath, an invitation to artistic and spiritual contemplation.

How to Get There and When to Visit

The church is located near Rosciolo dei Marsi, a fraction of Magliano de' Marsi (AQ), on the slopes of Monte Velino. It can be reached on foot via a panoramic path of about 2 km, also suitable for occasional walkers.

The best time to visit it? Spring or autumn, when the light and colors of Abruzzo reach their peak.

Santa Maria in Valle Porclaneta is not only a place to visit, but to live. It is an invitation to slow down, to observe, to create. Because sometimes, to find art and inspiration, it is enough to follow a mountain path that leads to silence — and to oneself.

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