St. Mary's Abbey

Arles-sur-Tech, France

Arles-sur-Tech is best known for its abbey, which allegedly holds the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen in a sarcophagus called Sainte Tombe, traditionally believed to have been brought from Rome 10th century. Its waters are traditionally believed to hold miraculous healing properties.

The Benedictine abbey of Sainte-Marie was founded in 778 and is the oldest Carolingian abbey in Catalonia. The main square contains the houses which were the first to be built around the abbey. The Abbey Sainte-Marie has a beautiful gothic cloister built in the 13th century and a large and impressive 18th century organ. Its most curious item though is a 4th century sarcophagus which once contained the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen.

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Address

Place del Convent 14, Arles-sur-Tech, France
See all sites in Arles-sur-Tech

Details

Founded: 778 AD
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Frankish kingdoms (France)

More Information

www.francethisway.com
www.tourisme-pyreneesorientales.com

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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Elne Cathedral (31,9 km)
Perpignan Cathedral (34,6 km)
Château de Peyrepertuse (46,6 km)
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Palace of the Kings of Majorca (34 km)
Salses Fortress (48,5 km)

User Reviews

Christelle Sitja (2 years ago)
Très apaisant serein très agréable
Christine Combes (2 years ago)
Magnifique abbaye
Fabienne Savy (2 years ago)
Dommage que le sarcophage ne puisse plus être approché
Jean-Pierre Campigli (2 years ago)
Une très belle Abbaye a visiter assurément,le prix a payer un peu cher d'après moi mais la visite est interessante . Attention aux heures d'ouverture.Gratuit après 16h30.
Ulric-Michel-Gaston Dippe-Chartier (3 years ago)
Belle visite. Déçu tu viens avant 16h30 payé 4 euros. Après 16h30 c'est gratuit. J'ai demandé à être remboursé j'ai pas être arnaqué. Il y 20 ans ont ne payais pas et on passé par toutes les entrées aujourd’hui condamné par des grilles.
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Palazzo Colonna

The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).

With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).

Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.

The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

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