Abbazia di Santa Maria del Monte

The Abbazia di Santa Maria del Monte stands on the Colle Spaziano in Cesena. The original building dates back to the ninth century, when the monastery was also founded, while its current appearance is the result of restoration work carried out between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Abbey is notable for its collection of 690 ex-voto panels, painted from the 1400s onward, depicting the miracles granted to the city by the Vergine del Monte.

Good to know

• The complex is made up of several parts: the abbey church, the presbytery, the side chapels, the ambulatory, the crypt, the sacristy, the monastery, the refectory, the antique book restoration workshop and the herbalist's shop.
• Natural products made by the monks of the monastery can be bought at the herbalist's shop: sweets, liqueurs, honey and herbal teas.
• The ex-voto collection is displayed in the ambulatory.
• The Abbey's dome features frescoes in Melozzo-style perspective depicting the Christian virtues, the evangelists and other religious scenes.

photo credits - terredelbuonvivere.it