214Reviews2Q&A
Reviews
Traveller rating
- 137
- 72
- 4
- 1
- 0
Traveller type
Time of year
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
We visited both the Abbey and the cultural museum. We were treated to over a two hour tour by a local volunteer, Elonora who was so well informed and interesting the time seemed to fly by. This was by far one of the best experiences of this type I have ever had in Italy and we have traveled up and down the country from the far north, Trentino to Sicitly. I don't know if someone as knowledgeable as our guide is fluent in English, but I would recommend asking when buying tickets.…
Read more
Date of experience: July 2016
Helpful
+1
This is one of the most peaceful interesting places to visit in all of "Bassa" area and few seem to know about it or visit it. The Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone is a great way to spend an afternoon wandering around the ground and imagining yourself transported back in time to Medieval period. It is very peaceful and beautiful. Such a hidden treasure! The abbey was founded in 1007 by Tedald, count of Canossa, the paternal grandfather of Matilda of Canossa, countess of Tuscany, with a grant to the Benedictine monks, of half his land lying between the rivers Po and Lirone, prompting the title "in Polirone". Polirone was the monastery most closely associated with his granddaughter, Matilda, who granted estates and dependencies. Boniface III, Margrave of Tuscany made further grants and commissioned a larger church, housing the remains of the hermit, Simeon of Polirone (died 1016). In 1077 the community passed into the reformed Benedictines under the Abbey of Cluny. At the time of the Gregorian reforms, the abbot was one of the principal proponents of the papacy in the Investiture Conflict. From 1115 until 1632, the abbey church housed thearca raised on eight columns housing the mortal remains of Matilda of Canossa, who had selected Polirone as her memorial place, rather than the ancestral mortuary church of Canossa. For centuries she was accorded almost the veneration of a founding patron saint at Polirone. Her body was transferred to the Basilica of St. Peter, Rome, in 1632.…
Read more
Date of experience: April 2015
Helpful
When entering the town of San Benedetto Po the main landmark is this church. Take the time to do the whole tour. The cultural museum alone has a different approach, it shows a complete cross section of the region. The history of the church also is more than you realize.
Read more
Date of experience: May 2012
Helpful
