Farfa Abbey, Benedictine monastery in Fara in Sabina, Italy
Farfa Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Fara in Sabina, about 26 miles northeast of Rome, displaying Romanesque architecture with traces of frescoes and a spacious inner courtyard. The basilica opens into a nave with side aisles, while the cloister with columns provides access to the museum rooms.
Between 560 and 570, Bishop Lorenzo Siro founded the abbey on land he received from the Lombards. In the 9th century it became the center of an extensive territory, before later conflicts and reforms diminished its political power.
The name Farfa likely derives from the nearby river, and today visitors walk through the restored monastic rooms and the adjoining library. Monks still live in one section of the complex and tend the garden, which is separated from the public areas.
The complex sits near the Farfa Sabina railway station and is reachable by a winding country road that passes through hills and olive groves. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes, as the tour through the cloister and museum rooms includes uneven stone floors.
During the Carolingian period, the abbey owned its own trading ship that was exempt from tolls in all ports of the empire. This exception shows how far-reaching the monastery's economic network was at that time.
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