Nonantola - Abbazia di Nonantola

Nonantola Abbey was founded in 752 by Saint Anselm, brother-in-law of the Lombard king Aistulf. Pope Stephen II presented relics of Saint Sylvester to the abbey, so it was named Saint Silvestro de Nonantula.

The abbey was already wealthy from the very beginning, in 780 Charlemagne endowed the abbey with many estates in Tuscany, where monks settled in Groppina (see "Pieve di San Pietro a Gropina"). In 883 the abbey was the place of a conference between Charlemagne´s great-grandson Charles III (aka "Charles the Fat") and Pope Marinus I.

The prosperious life ended, when in 900 Hungarian troops looted and completely destroyed the abbey. Reconstruction began soon after and about a century later the "imperial monastery" was one of the most powerful abbey in Europe. Abbot Godeschalc had a new basilica built in 1058. At the beginning of the Investiture Conflict it sided with the emperor, but Matilda of Tuscany stepped in and forced the abbey to change sides. It declared itself openly for the papal party in 1111.

The earthquake in 1117 damaged the abbey severely. The reconstruction started in 1121, so most of what is seen today is from the 12h century.

The doorposts of the portal are covered with carvings. Some are attributed to the School of Wiligelmo. Wiligelmo and his workshop worked at that time as well in Modena, only 10kms southwest.

Here are a siren and a mermaid entangled by vines.