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Morimondo

It was founded on October 4, 1134 by monks coming from Morimond. It had two daughters: Acquafredda (1143) and Casalvolone (1169). At the end of the 12th cent., it was the seat of an important scriptorium, which held 93 codexes. Because of its position between Milan and Pavia, which were rival cities, our abbey dealt with several invasions and plunders, the worst of which happened in 1237 and compelled our monks to slow down their monastic activities. In 1450 Morimondo became a Commenda and it lived a material and spiritual rebirth, thanks to the son of Lorendo il Magnico, cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, who became pope with the name of Leo X. Since 1564 it is a parish. Thanks to abbot Antonio Libanorio (1648-1652), in the 17th cent. we can see a renewal of our monastic community. In the 18th cent. monks built two palaces at the north and west sides of the cloister.

When it became State property, it was sold to private owners in 1805, but the church and the chapter house were given to the Morimondo's parish. Since then was used as a farm building. It was bought in 1917 by the painter Angelo Comolli. In 1982 Morimondo's municipality bought the abbey by Comolli's heirs and started its restoration that ended in 2008. Property is made up by the church (1182-1296), the four storey east wing (included two monk's work rooms and a dormitory ? 12th and 13th centuries ? and the chapter house ? 14th cent.), the kitchen and the refectory (rebuilt in the 18th cent.), the cloister (the north gallery is medieval but the others date at the beginning of the 16th cent.), and few lay brothers' rooms. Other rooms, with different uses, are closed to visits now. Since 1993 Morimondo's abbey is administrated by Fondazione Abbatia Sancte Marie de Morimundo.