Morimondo Abbey

Morimondo Abbey (Abbazia di Morimondo)
The abbey from the north.
Basic information
Location	Morimondo, Italy
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Province	Milan
Architectural description
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Gothic
Completed	1296

Morimondo Abbey (Italian: Abbazia di Morimondo) is a former Cistercian monastery located at Morimondo, a few kilometers south of Abbiategrasso in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The surviving structure is Romanesque and Gothic. It was founded in 1134 as a daughter house of Morimond Abbey near Dijon, from which it took its name (meaning "die to the world").

The history of the abbey begins on October 4, 1134 when a group of founding monks arrived from the mother house of Morimond in France. The monks settled in Coronate (now a frazione of Morimondo) and later chose the location for their monastery in Morimondo, about a mile away. Probably, the monastery was already partially built when they moved in Morimondo on November 11, 1136. Soon after its foundation the abbey acquired patrons and postulants from all social classes and the community of the monks had a rapid growth in the number of vocations. Even before the construction of the church, the monks founded two further communities, in Acquafredda near Como (1143) and in Casalvolone near Novara (1169). Further proofs of the flourishing activity in Morimondo are the Scriptorium, aimed at creating the monastic library and at suppling the two new subsidiaries with some basic books, and the large agricultural holdings. Several granges were in fact settled in the surroundings.

The building of the church began in 1182 and was finished in 1296. There was a delay with respect to the building of the monastery and it was due to disputes with the clergy of Casorate, a village few miles from Morimondo. A long interruptions (probably a few years) occurred after December 1237 when the monastery was assaulted by Pavian troops and various monks were killed. Indeed, militants from Pavia and Milan often looted the area and wars hampered the success of the abbey. Frederick Barbarossa and his troops looted Morimondo in 1161. An interruptions occurred also in 1245 due, once again, to the raids of the imperial troops.