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The Church of Santa Maria in Canterano: the Former Benedictine Abbey Housing 15th-Century Frescoes
The Church of Santa Maria in Canterano was for centuries a Benedictine abbey. Founded in the 11th century by the monks of Subiaco, it controlled territories and properties until 1456, when Pope Callistus III suppressed it, annexing it to the Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican. From that moment it lost its autonomy, and became a parish church, but its artistic heritage has remained intact.
The 15th-Century Frescoes
The interior houses a cycle of 15th-century frescoes covering the walls of the apse and the nave. They are scenes from the life of Mary and the saints, painted with colours that are still vivid despite subsequent restorations. The artists involved, from the Roman school, were not great names, but craftsmen who worked on commission for the monastic communities of the Aniene valley.
The Bell Tower and the Crypt
The Romanesque bell tower is the oldest part of the complex: a square tower in local stone, with twin-light windows opening on three levels. Beneath the church is a three-nave crypt supported by columns with carved capitals, probably reused from Roman buildings in the area.
