Abbazia di Rodengo Saiano

History

Founded by Cluniac monks around the mid-eleventh century, the abbey passed in the fifteenth century to the Olivetans of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, who made it one of the most monumental monastic complexes in northern Italy: three cloisters from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries and, in the guesthouse refectory, Romanino's frescoes (c. 1530) devoted precisely to the theme of hospitality. Suppressed in the Napoleonic era, it saw the Olivetan monks return in the twentieth century; today, dedicated to Saints Nicholas and Paul VI, it is a living community on the edge of Franciacorta.

Visiting

What to see

Olivetan abbey in Franciacorta. Three Renaissance cloisters. Frescoes by Romanino, Moretto, and Gambara. Historic library. Church with inlaid wooden stalls.

Surroundings

Franciacorta, land of vineyards and sparkling wine. Lake Iseo 10 km away. Monte Orfano. Franciacorta cycling route. Wineries and farm stays.

Visitor information

Guided tours Sat and Sun. Weekdays by reservation. Compline at 7:00 PM. Contact the porter's lodge.

Contacts

030 610182 · www.abbaziarodengo.it

Hospitality and where to sleep

Guesthouse available

Accommodation for spiritual retreats on telephone request to the Olivetan community; conditions to be agreed.

Beds and prices

The Olivetan community welcomes guests for retreats and spiritual experiences on request: direct telephone contact (030 610182), conditions and contribution to be agreed. It is not a structured tourist guesthouse: for a "secular" overnight stay, Franciacorta offers inns, farm stays and B&Bs in Rodengo itself and the neighbouring villages, mid-range.

Services

Water, bars, supermarkets and a pharmacy in the village of Rodengo Saiano, a few minutes' ride away; the area is packed with wineries and restaurants. Full phone coverage, card payments widespread. No commercial services at the abbey: it is an inhabited monastery — enter quietly.

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

Rodengo Saiano lies at the foot of the Franciacorta hills, some ten km from Brescia: you arrive on flat or gently rolling asphalt roads, avoiding the busy former SS510 in favour of the lanes among the vineyards. The abbey is at via Brescia 83, with an entrance courtyard where you can prop the bike. Church free to enter during opening hours; cloisters and monumental rooms by guided tour on reservation.

Among the vine rows of Franciacorta you ride almost flat to the abbey courtyard. On weekdays you go around alone with the information panels, at weekends there are guides. The village is a short ride away for water and supplies.

Entrance courtyard at via Brescia 83 to lean the bike. Water, bars, supermarkets and a pharmacy in the village, a few minutes' ride away.

Map and stages