Abbazia Cistercense di Valvisciolo

The Abbazia di Valvisciolo is a Romanesque Cistercian monastery in the Pontine hills near Sermoneta, continuously inhabited since its foundation in 1167 and designated an Italian national monument. In the 13th century the abbey briefly came under the control of the Knights Templar, a period still traceable in cryptic stonecutter marks and symbolic carvings visible along the cloister arcade. True to Cistercian ideals, the complex is defined by austere restraint — a plain three-nave church, a square cloister with unadorned arches, and medieval limestone walls largely intact. Cistercian monks still reside here today; the church is open to visitors, and the atmosphere of quiet removed from the nearby tourist circuit of Sermoneta is its most immediate quality.