Abbazia di Fiastra

History

The abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra was founded in 1142 by Cistercian monks from Chiaravalle Milanese, who reclaimed the valley and built church and monastery reusing the stones of the nearby Roman city of Urbs Salvia. After centuries of splendour, sackings and commendams, the complex passed to the Giustiniani Bandini princes, whose legacy gave rise to the Foundation that now cares for it. Since 1985 a small Cistercian community has returned to live there, and since 1984 the abbey has been the heart of a Nature Reserve of over 1,800 hectares of woods and farmland.

Visiting

What to see

Cistercian Gothic church in stone. Romanesque-Gothic cloister. XIII century crypt. Medieval frescoes. Nature Reserve with oak and hornbeam forests all around.

Surroundings

Abbadia di Fiastra Nature Reserve. Nature trails. Marche hills. Olives, cheese, Piceno wines. Sibillini Mountains 30 km away.

Visitor information

Complex open daily (except Christmas and New Year's Day) 10am-1pm and 3-6:30pm; Reserve always accessible.

Contacts

+39 0733 202942 · www.abbadiafiastra.net · info.riserva@abbadiafiastra.net

Hospitality and where to sleep

No guesthouse

No guesthouse. Farm stays in the Reserve. B&Bs in Tolentino (10 km).

Beds and prices

The monastery does not offer a structured tourist guesthouse. The Reserve, though, is well equipped: at the abbey hamlet and in the immediate surroundings there are farm stays, country houses and B&Bs in the mid-range, plus a camper area. More choice in Tolentino and Urbisaglia, a few kilometres away.

Services

An ideal spot for a long stop: bars, pizzerias, restaurants and local produce for sale inside the Reserve, toilets, drinking fountains and lawns for picnics in the shade of the monastery. Information office in front of the church (tel. 0733 202942). Waymarked cycling and walking paths in the wood and along the river Fiastra.

Places to stay nearby (within 15 km)

No places listed within 15 km yet: the overnight network is a work in progress.

Getting there by bike

You arrive on asphalted roads through gentle rolling countryside between Tolentino and Urbisaglia, with no demanding climbs: the abbey lies on the valley floor, inside the Reserve, with ample parking and avenues where cycling is a pleasure. Access to the Reserve is free; the visit to the abbey complex (cloister, cellars, wine museum, chapter house) costs 5 € full / 4 € reduced, no booking, daily roughly 10am-1pm and 3-6:30pm.

The Grande Anello dell'Abbadia, twenty-four kilometres almost entirely flat, is designed just for cyclists. Inside the Reserve there is everything: bars, fountains, meadows to stop in. No demanding climb between Tolentino and Urbisaglia.

Free access to the Reserve, signposted cycle routes. Bars, pizzerias, restaurants, toilets and fountains within the Reserve.

Map and stages