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= Abbey of Santa Maria in Sylvis =

The abbey of Santa Maria in Silvis (or, less correctly, Sylvis) is an ex monastery located in the centre of Sesto al Reghena, in the provence of Pordenone.

History
Founded in 730-735 by three lombard brothers Erfo, Anto and Marco, sons of the duke Pietro del Friuli e Piltrude di Cividale, it belonged from 762 to benedictine monks coming from the Nonantola Abbey. Neverthless the fall of the Lombard kingdom in 774 and the rebellion occured in the duchy in Friuli in 776 harshly repressed from the Franks, the abbey mantained and increased its importance also after, because Charlemagne, in the role of King of the Lombards, in 781 granted to the abbot Beato a confirmation diploma of all the properties already accumulated previously and also added  the exemption from every political, jurisdictional or fiscal intervention by the laic authorities.

In 899 the Hungarians ruined the abbey, but it rerised in the 10 century and was fortified. In 967 emperor Otto I donated the abbey to Rodoaldo, patriarch of Aquileia. In the following years the economic growth of the abbey granted prosperity and wealth to monks and abbots, so much that architectural, pictorial and sculptural works will be commissioned to the best artist working in that area. Also the fame and power of the abbot Sesto grew proportionally, gaining more prestige in the patriarchate of Aquileia; in1182 the abbot Goffredo became patriarch.

From 1441 to 1786 the abbey became commandery; the first commendatory abbot was cardinal Pietro Barbo, who later became pope with the name of Paolo II, also in the following centuries the title belonged frequently to noble venetian families. In 1818 the religious jurisdiction returned to the diocese of Concordia and at the end the abbatial title was re-established in 1921 and assigned to the priest pro tempore, belonging to the secular clergy.

Walls and entrance tower
Although in the first centuries the abbey perhaps did not have a defense system, a first wall was certainly built from the 10th century, after the devastation by the Hungarians. In 1431 there were seven defense towers, as represented in the seal of Tommaso de' Savioli, the last residential abbot. Now only one remains, which also serves as an entrance to the complex; originally it was equipped with a drawbridge. The tower was restored by the commendatory abbots Giovanni Michiel and Domenico Grimani, who transformed it as we see it today; in the 18th century the stone bridge was built to replace the drawbridge.

The facade is dominated by a fresco representing the lion of San Marco, dating from the late 15th century; just below is a bas-relief with the coat of arms of Cardinal Grimani with the date of 1521; on the left there is the fresco where the Grimani coat of arms is repeated, while on the right is the fresco of a coat of arms with cross, of which the owner is unknown.

Below you can see an allegory of Venetian good government and the Grimani family, which controlled with its members both the abbey of Sesto and the Patriarchate of Aquileia. Although there is no documentary evidence, the author of these works is considered Giovanni Battista Grassi, one of the greatest representatives of mature Mannerism in Friuli.

Bell Tower
After the entrance tower you can access the large courtyard, recently paved, on which all the main buildings of the abbey complex overlook.

Just in front of the entrance is the bell tower, 33.60m high with a square base of 7.70 m and built entirely of brick. It was probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries and is similar to other contemporary towers in the lagoon area, with vertical pilasters and rare openings along the sides. The face is embellished by high double-ring arches, three on each side, of equal height on all sides, except on the south side, where the central arch was lowered in a second time to position the clock that appears for the first time in a print of the late 18th century. The current clock was restored after restoration work in 1914.

Renaissance gate
Next to the bell tower there is a portal of Renaissance origin with a round arch supported by pillars. The whole is made more graceful by pilasters, which support an entablature with projecting shelves that copies the denture frame of the abbey building.

The work was probably realized in conjunction with the works carried out on the entrance tower promoted by the abbots Giovanni Michiel and Domenico Grimani, that is towards the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century. The portal allows access to a park, where perhaps the convent once stood.

Palace of the Chancellery
The building is located to the west, near the bell tower; it is made of brick and has a rectangular plan of about 25.5 x 10 m with a height of about 9 m. It is believed that the structure dates back to the period between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century, although it has been heavily renovated and modified over the centuries. Its primitive use is unknown, even if the prevailing opinion is that it was the seat of civil authority, placed in front of the ancient abbey residence, seat of religious authority.

Ancient abbey residence
On the facade there are four coats of arms of some commendatory abbots of the 17th and 18th centuries. Starting from the top left we have those of Giovanni Alberto Badoer, Carlo Pio di Savoia-Carpi, Girolamo Colonna di Sciarra and Giovanni Cornaro.

The palace is now used as a town hall.

Current abbey residence
The current abbey residence is located towards the south-eastern edge of the abbey, where one of the defense towers was located, partly enclosed in the building. The building that you see now is the result of the renovation works that took place in the first half of the 18th century.

Church
The first restoration of the Church was carried out in the first decade of 1900 by the Venetian architect Giuseppe Torres.

Vestibule
Through the portal you enter the vestibule of the church.

It is a room of about 5.10 x 10.30 m and covered by a powerful wooden ceiling, which dates back to the period of the commendatory abbot Pietro Barbo (the future Pope Paul II), as evidenced by the presence of his coat of arms in various points of the ceiling.

The vestibule is characterized by the presence of two cycles of frescoes of Heaven (southern wall) and Hell (northern wall), works of late activity of the Tuscan painter Antonio da Firenze, helped by his workshop, which also included the young Pellegrino da San Daniele.

Pipe organ
Placed in a niche next to the presbytery, it was built in 2000 by Francesco Zanin with partial reuse of the previous instrument of the same company dating back to 1957. It is composed of two keyboards of 58 notes and parallel and concave pedals of 30 notes, 26 registers and 1490 pipes. The transmission is entirely mechanical. The principal organist is M. Marco Baradello.

Crypt
Under the apse there is the crypt, renovated between 1907 and 1914, when the great restoration works were started.

The crypt is characterized by some small spans, covered by cross vaults, supported by twenty columns, some of which rest on ancient elements; while all the capitals are redone. Along the perimeter walls there are seats with denture frames, partly original.

At the center of the crypt is placed the Urn of Saint Anastasia. It consists of a single block of marble of Greek origin. The upper part, which serves as a cover for the entire urn, is divided into three areas: in the center there is a flower cross inside a round decorated with herringbone, while in the other two there are pairs of twisted bows. The larger side faces consist of ten squares with flower crosses, rosettes, flowers and arches. The two shorter faces have a circle enclosing a cross. According to recent studies, the urn was made by craftsmen from Cividale and should date back to the 8th century; the great accuracy indicates a high-level commission and is linked, therefore, to the origin of the abbey itself. The crypt is completed by two side apses where above the respective altars are placed an Annunciation in marble and a Pietà. The Annunciation is still influenced by typical Byzantine traditions, still present in the Venetian area at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. The work consists of two separate slabs in Aurisina marble, joined together by a frame also in marble; it has been hypothesized that previously they were part of an altar or in any case of a structure placed in a main position and subsequently dismembered. The Annunciation is the only presence of marble altarpieces of the period '200-'300, while there are archaeological findings (some cusps and other marble fragments related to tortile columns and frames carved with foliage) they suggest the existence in the presbytery of a marble polyptych of Gothic style, dating back to the first half of the 14th century.

The Pietà (also known as Vesperbild), a work of Austrian origin dating back to the early 15th century, belongs to a series of artifacts present in the region and also in other areas of the northern Adriatic that signal the spread of the theme of Christian piety.

Ancient triabsidate church
Behind the primitive abbey residence and next to the church, a series of excavations have been carried out that have brought to light the foundations of the church before the present one. Its perimeter is currently highlighted with stones. The church was formed by a single nave, which ended with an apse facing east; both right and left were placed two chapels with a square plan also equipped with an apse.

Outside there was a quadriporticus, which is generally interpreted as a signal of passage of a group of religious from the eremitic life to the monastic rule.

Residential abbots

 * Silvestro 762
 * Albino 775
 * Beato 778
 * Pietro 807
 * Lupo 830
 * Adalberto I 888
 * Adalberto II 960
 * Eroldo 1005
 * Benedetto 1027
 * Ingone 1080
 * Woldarico 1134
 * Rodolfo 1142
 * Giovanni 1154
 * Martino 1168
 * Goffredo 1176
 * Manfredo 1182
 * Corrado 1213
 * Stefano 1220
 * Ermanno 1246
 * Pietro 1251
 * Adalberto III 1253
 * Graziadio 1273
 * Ermanno della Frattina 1289
 * Ludovico della Frattina 1325
 * Guglielmo 1348
 * Michele da Neuro 1349
 * Federico di Attimis 1383
 * Tommaso de' Savioli 1431

Commendatory abbots

 * cardinal Pietro Barbo (1441-1464), then pope Paolo II
 * cardinal Giovanni Michiel (1465-?), nephew of pope Paolo II
 * cardinal Domenico Grimani (1503-1523) (patriarch of Aquileia since 1498)
 * Giovanni Grimani (1523-1582) (patriarch of Aquileia since 1547)
 * Antonio Grimani (1593-1628) (patriarch of Aquileia since 1622)
 * Silvestro Marcantonio Morosini (1628-1636) (bishop of Treviso since1633)
 * Marino Zorzi (1639-?)
 * cardinal Carlo Pio di Savoia-Carpi (1658-?)
 * cardinal Giambattista Rubini (1689-1707) (cardinal since 1690)
 * cardinal Giovanni Alberto Badoer (1707-1714)
 * cardinal Gianfrancesco Barbarigo (1714-?)
 * Giusto Fontanini (1717-1736) (titular archbishop of Ancira)
 * cardinal Girolamo Colonna di Sciarra (1736-1763)
 * cardinal Giovanni Cornaro (1768-1786)