A journey through the centuries
The Abbey of Santa Maria delle Carceri is a precious witness to more than a thousand years of history in the Lower Padua area. From the remote origins of the territory to the present day, this sacred place has lived through eras of splendour and periods of abandonment, preserving its spiritual essence.
The ancient territory and the barbarian invasions
Initially (10th century BC), the territory south of the Euganean Hills was characterised by wooded and marshy areas, inhabited first by the "Euganean" people and later by the "Palaeoveneti". The first important settlement that arose in this period was Atheste, now Este (8th century BC), which was crossed by one of the waterways forming the river basin of the Adige.
In the 1st century BC, with the settlement of the Roman civilisation, the area was reclaimed, cultivated and equipped with important land and river communication routes. With the collapse of the Roman Empire (476 AD) and the decline of the flourishing Palaeovenetian/Roman civilisation, the area was affected by devastating Barbarian invasions. The previously reclaimed lands were abandoned, and the region became inhospitable and uninhabited.
A period of very poor climatic conditions, with heavy storms and abundant rainfall caused by a marked drop in temperatures, made the Adige river basin unable to cope with flood surges. Flooding became increasingly frequent, turning the entire area into a vast marsh stretching south of the Euganean Hills as far as the territory of Rovigo. Some historians claim that the famous "Rotta della Cucca" (AD 589) was the triggering event of this environmental disaster.
The foundation: the Augustinian Canons (year 1000)
For several centuries, the marshy and unhealthy area of the Lower Padua region remained abandoned in deep poverty, and the first effort to restore the population and the territory came from the "Canons" of the Collegiate Church of Santa Tecla in Este, around the year 1000.
The Religious settled in Carceri (then called Gazzo) in the ancient rural parish church and, as a Religious Order, chose the rule of the Augustinian Monks. They received donations of land and houses and enjoyed extensive privileges in managing the population and the territory, leading to the establishment of a Monastery that would become one of the most important in the Veneto region.
Thanks to the work of the Monks, guided by Priors Domenico and Pistore and protected by Bishops Sinibaldo and Bellino, the lands were reclaimed and the monastery was able to offer hospitality to the poor and work to the local families. These were years of great flourishing, marked by a significant improvement in the social and working conditions of the population.
The reclamation of the lands and the foundation of the monastery
Decline and crisis (14th century)
A few years later, the Monastery began to lose the distinctive features that the Monks had patiently built up, also as a result of negative events such as the locust invasion (in 1340) and the plague epidemic (in 1348). Furthermore, the local populations had to abandon the area because of the fierce war between the Scaliger and Carraresi dynasties.
The Monastery was almost abandoned; the few remaining Monks lived out their lives without being able to govern and manage the territory. Thus, in 1405, Pope Innocent VII entrusted the management of the Monastery to an outsider: Angelo Sommariva of Santa Prudenziana in Naples.
The arrival of the Camaldolese Monks in 1408
The Camaldolese Monks and the period of greatest splendour (1408–1690)
In 1408, Abbot Venier, seeking to restore the splendour of the Monastery of Carceri, travelled to Rome to meet Pope Gregory XII and convinced him to establish the Religious Order of Camaldolese Friars in Carceri. With the Papal Bull dated 18 February 1408, several Monks from the Church of San Michele in Murano moved to Carceri.
With the arrival of the Camaldolese Monks, the Monastery was soon elevated to the rank of Abbey (recognised in 1427), and it experienced continuous growth in social, working, religious and ecclesiastical activities. The Abbey was equipped with four cloisters, a library was built, and the Guesthouse was restored to accommodate pilgrims.
A defensive wall was built, the roads were made passable, the marshy lands were drained and the fields were cultivated. The Abbey was enriched by an Academy of Studies, with the reading and interpretation of the many codices kept in the library, and by a training school for young Novices. The Monks lived self-sufficiently thanks to the cultivation of extensive agricultural lands, ceramics production and the running of a pharmaceutical activity. These were the years of greatest splendour for the Abbey of Santa Maria delle Carceri.
The suppression of 1690
In the 16th century, the Abbey slowly began to lose the importance and prestige it had gained. Various events led to its decline: the 1643 fire that caused extensive damage to the Church and the Abbey buildings, the financial needs related to the construction of the Major Seminary of Padua, and the economic necessities of the Republic of Venice, engaged in the war against the Turks (War of Candia).
With the papal bull of 30 January 1690, Pope Alexander VIII decreed the suppression of the Abbey, its sale at auction, and the obligation for the Monks to leave. The precious chosen volumes of the library were taken to the Church of San Michele in Murano, Venice, while other valuable objects were sent to the Churches of Santa Lucia in Vicenza and San Giovanni in Murano. The remaining items in Carceri were stolen, sold, or left to deteriorate.
The period of the Carminati Counts (1690–1950)
With the sale of the Abbey to the Carminati Counts, a period of slow and inexorable decline began for the extraordinary Abbey complex. The Carminati family, originally from the Bergamo area, kept their residence in Venice, but their first intervention at the Abbey was the transformation of the Abbot’s house into a summer residence for the Counts (the current Canonical House).
In just a few years, the Camaldolese Abbey became a large agricultural estate, with exceptional structural and architectural changes. The two Camaldolese Cloisters were demolished, the surrounding walls were almost entirely destroyed, and the Guesthouse building was converted into a granary. The partition walls of the Monks’ cells were knocked down and the corner towers of the Romanesque cloister were demolished.
Towards the mid-19th century (4 November 1834), the Carminati family permanently moved their residence to Carceri, seeking to play an active role in the town’s public and political life. However, after years of economic difficulty, in 1950 the heirs of the Carminati Counts transferred the former Abbey to the Parish of Carceri.
The Abbey today
In 1950, the Parish of Carceri took possession of the Abbey complex. The historical, cultural and religious site came under the protection of foundations and various public bodies. Today, the entire Abbey site is managed by the Parish of Carceri.
A hospitality service is available, offering visits to the Abbey and to the Museum of Rural Life, set up on the first floor of the 16th-century Cloister. Since June 2015, a Spirituality Centre for Scouts has also been operating in the House of the Father Guestmaster.
Today, the Abbey stands as a place of faith, culture and hospitality, jealously guarding the memory of more than a thousand years of history and continuing its spiritual mission in service to the community.
The Abbey restored in our time
Key milestones
Find out more about the Abbey.
Come and visit the Abbey and immerse yourself in a thousand years of history