POMPOSA - CODE: TEDPMP

San Pier Damini, a monk and learned cardinal, was born in Ravenna in 1007: he meets Dante in Canto XXI of the Paradiso. In the grandeur of celestial space, Dante, accompanied by Beatrice, speaks with the Saint, who indulges in a rant against the corruption of the clergy and fondly remembers his stay in Pomposa:

 

 

In quel loco fu’ io Pietro Damiano,

 

e Pietro Peccator fu’ ne la casa

 

di Nostra Donna in sul lito adriano

 

Abbey of Pomposa:

 

The existence of a Benedictine Cenoby in "Insula Pomposia" was already known in the 6th or 7th century, but it was confirmed, for the first time, in 874, when Pope John VII claimed jurisdiction of the papacy over the monastery against the diocese of Ravenna. A fertile and pleasant place, the Insula Pomposia is bordered by the sea and two rivers (the Po di Goro and the Po di Volano), favouring the development of a rich and powerful abbey that reached the peak of its fame and its independence in the 11th century. It was the Ravenna abbot Guido degli Strambiati (deceased in 1046) who began the radical reform of Pomposa factories that, over the course of the 11th century, were expanded and embellished. In 1026, the church was reconsecrated, in 1063 the bell tower built and, in the same century, the cloisters and the Palazzo della Ragione, where the Pomposa Abbot practised civil justice. A major centre of religious and spiritual life, the Abbey of Pomposa during Guido's time was frequented by many famous figures, including San Pier Damiani, whom Dante will meet in Canto XXI of the Paradiso, and Guido d'Arezzo, who, it seems, developed his method for writing musical notes right here. In the 11th century, the monastic community of Pomposa included over 100 monks; fame and prosperity continued for the two following centuries, but in the 14th century it began to decline. The Po, that once helped it flourish, will be the ruin of the island. Flooding and swamping will cause the slow but inexorable decline of the abbey, ending with the departure of the Benedictine monks in 1671. In recent decades, Pomposa has been the object of care and restoration, helping it come back to the world with impressive records of its past.

Today, the Pomposa complex includes the abbey church of Santa Maria with a bell tower, the chapter house, refectory, the so-called "Sala delle Stilate" and the dormitory (today the Pomposa Museum) that together mark the boundary of the missing cloister of the west side. The complex also includes the cloister Palazzo della Ragione and the enclosure of the monks' cemetery to the north of the church. In truth, this is just a part of the vast Benedictine monastery, which included several other buildings. Even though deeply mutilated, the Pomposa complex is still of very high quality and can be rightly considered as one of the cornerstones of the artistic history of the Po Valley Middle Ages.