The Church of San Clemente al Vomano, also called Abbey of San Clemente al Vomano, stands on top of a small hill on the left bank of the river Vomano, not far from Guardia Vomano Notasulga. It belonged to the abbey of the Benedictine order who conceived both the church and the monastery.

Historical Background

There are no documents that indicate the exact date of the foundation of the monastery of St. Clement, it is believed that the entire monastery complex was built in the second half of the ninth century, around the year 871 and, certainly, name oltre l'890.

In this period there was a remarkable development of Benedictine monasticism in the valleys of the province of Teramo, Tordino, Mavone and in particular the valley of the river Vomano where Benedictine monks, with the help of local people,in addition to San Clemente al Vomano, also built other important monasteries: San Salvatore di Canzano, Santa Maria di Propezzano, Santa Maria di Hum and many others to the Gran Sasso.

The legend about the origins of the story handed down in the park (not confirmed historically) the family of the Emperor Louis II in “castle” Watch Vomano, occurred during the flight to escape the conspiracy, plotted against him, Adelchis by Duke of Benevento and the Lombard princes.

Again according to legend, between the members of the family there was also the princess Ermengarde, only daughter of Ludovico II il Giovane and mother of Ludovico III, that,according to the legend, appreciating the beauty of the place, wished that there were erected a church and a monastery dedicated to St. Clement. As reported by Moretti and from Palma, authors who cite the column 1007 the Chronicon Casauriense, is reported that Ermengarde, (“piissima mater Ludovici imperatoris Domna Hyrmingarda fecit et Donavit“), it is likely that the pia mater Emperor Louis III, has given consent to the Benedictines for the construction of the monastery of St. Clement to Vomano then giving it to the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria.

Architecture

The entire architectural aesthetics of the present church belongs to the reconstruction works took place in the year 1108, as evidenced by the plaque affixed to the pier of the left jamb of the entrance which bears the inscription: «YEARS OUR DOMAINS AB incarnatione JESU CHRISTI SVNT ML-C-VIII INDICTIONE XV».

The facade of the Romanesque style elevates a simple and austere, open in the central zone by an important portal and by a lancet window overlying, ending with a sloped crown.

The church retains its bell tower sailing, constructed using the main wall between the church and the monastery. In the rear elevation of the religious, towards the valley, is in great emphasis on the movement of the hemispherical apses with a series of blind arches and pilasters.

The portal

The important portal architrave, of taste and school liberatoriana, (referring to the architectural lines of the Abbey of San Liberatore a Majella) consists of blocks of cut stone and dated 1108, as reported by the stone immurata left side of the upright. From careful observation shows that the entire system can be made up of various decorative elements reassembled and restored by the monks because of poor economic opportunities besetting the abbey.

Both the archway that the jambs and spandrels are decorated with spirals chiseled classic taste that show large thorny flowers, vines and small frames. The pier goes right on top of a zoomorphic figure.

On the edge of the outer contour of the wedges bow bezel is inscribed with a long written, hardly more readable, in which are shown, probably, the names of the principals and the master stonemason who did the work: «IN DEI NOE P. PRVPOS. ET B. Filio FECIT FARE TIME ARTS AITGNISSCARDV artifice Arheton ». Which could correspond to the interpretation of Francesco Aceto: "In the name of God, P. Prupos and his son B. did achieve the entrance to San Clemente from Gniscardo master of architecture ».

The Internal

The interior of the church consists of a single environment marked by a basilica plan with three naves ending with three semicircular apses. The nave is larger than the side, it thus appears that the apse is much larger. At the end of aisles there are fewer entrances to the crypt below. The bays of the nave are followed by round arches supported by columns and pillars of various shapes, some made with reused material.

Interesting are the capitals, all different from each other in shape and size of the decorations, Note also the second left column consists of overlapping three drums of Doric style of the Roman era. The presbytery is raised and the coverage is divided into a roof with wooden trusses. On the left wall of the counter has its place a plaque that comes from the church of St. Martin of Castelbasso, engraved with the date of the consecration of the church: year 1134 and the frase: «YEARS AB incarnatione DOMAINS OUR DEDICATED JESU CHRISTI MCXXXIIII EST ECCLESIA S MARTINI TIME BEING OLDRII ABBATIS" "in the year 1134 the birth of Our Lord has been given to the church of St. Martin in the time of Abbot Oldrio ». Inside San Clemente has been used in the last period of the sixteenth century as a seal for the crypt.

The part of the floor nearest the entrance was recently removed and restored by a decking transparent to make accessible to observation the spaces below. It is a series of small rooms used as burials unearthed. For a long time the church was used as a cemetery.

The ciborium

The ciborium dated around the middle of the twelfth century (the most recent criticism places him among the years 1140 and the 1150) is considered among the most monumental and ancient ones of Romanesque art in Abruzzo. It was entirely created and signed by the workshop of Roger and Roberto, father and son, and bears carved on the frieze of the sentence: "PLVURIBVS EXPERTVS FVT IC CVM shepherd ROBERTV (…) ROGERIO DVURAS REDDENTES ART FIGVRAS ». From this it follows that the work was largely responsible for his son Roberto helped by his father Roger.

It elevates solemn front of the apse of the church to cover the central altar greater. The decorations give semblance of Byzantine and Islamic Arts harmonized by master performers. The material used for the construction of the building is simple terracotta, very ductile, that, with simple scratching, has allowed us to create rich decorations, multiple tunnels, interlacing geometric with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures.

The entire canopy develops from a rectangular plan with time “ellissoidale” supported by four columns of limestone that end with capitals equal two by two. The rear of taste Corinthian, the front in the shape of logs reverse pyramid with sculptures that emerge between palm leaves. The portion of the front is formed by the conjunction of two arcs combined in horseshoe, Hanging in the middle, that the lowest point of union show two small heads of animals.

Dominate the composition octagonal ovoid two drums resting, one on the other, beyond the scope of tax. They have different sizes and are arranged so that the edges of the upper coincide with the center of the sides of the lower, which is larger.

Both have the decorum of a small porch. The larger drum is perforated with columns and arches cross; the smallest has double columns and arches which enclose a simple floral pattern in them. The top is enhanced by a low pyramidal roof that ends with four decorative elements gathered in the center where he was staying the Divine Lamb.

In the portion of space inside the ciborium was repositioned the coat of arms of the family of L'Aquila Branconio which belonged to Girolamo Branconio, abbot in the year 1605.

The high

The high altar of the church is housed inside the perimeter of the ciborium. It consists of slabs of marble cipolin juxtaposed in the form of simple cash, among these particularly interesting is that the front dell'antependium richly inlaid arabesque motifs filled with a mixture of powdered clay(probably coming from the processing of the ciborium) and isinglass or bone and center of which stands the figure of the Divine Lamb. The side plates, smaller than the front, Both are decorated with arabesques easier. The back of the altar is constituted by a simple marble slab which presents, in the central, one buca, is currently empty, idonea to contenere reliquie.

Statue lineage di San Clemente

The wooden statue in the round that depicts St. Clement is high 153 cm and is exposed, inside the church, in the small apse on the right of the chancel, enclosed in a transparent protective display case. Difficult assignment but dating from the early fourteenth century, was carved and painted according to the canons of the late Gothic style. Carved from a single block of wood, lightened by the excavation on the back, shows the obvious characteristic of the frontal and immobility iconic traditional canons of Byzantine. Show, however, appreciable expression and suggests the image of the saint in the attitude of blessing and with the other hand striga a book. San Clemente as the pontifical vestments and wearing a tiara.

Inside the crypt of the church is exposed wooden polychrome bust of St. Clement wearing pontifical robes and the tiara, work dated no earlier than the eighteenth century.

The frescoes

The paintings that are still preserved in the church of San Clemente represent a small part of the original pictorial themes have been lost with the passage of time and because of periods of degradation crossed by the structure. Distributed on pillars and walls, were made with the technique of fresco painting by unknown artists in different eras.

The first painting, dated to about the year 1285, is located on a pillar of the nave and the left represents the Queen Madonna with Childthe (Attributed to the master Gentile from Rocca) portrayed sitting with Baby Jesus in an attitude of blessing. It shows the remarkable effect of the rich drapery of their robes of the Virgin and pleated white veil over the great crown.

The second, of which there are faint traces, shows fragments of an iconic figure not recognizable and is flanked newsstand fifteenth.

Different invoice you have frescoes painted on the space of surfaces newsstand located against the wall of the small left aisle. The operating, made of bricks, opens between two thin and agile octagonal columns surmounted by capitals truncated pyramid and ends with a gabled roof.

The representations were made during the year 1419, Giotto painted with gusto, within frames herringbone, represent the Our Lady of Mercy that receives under her mantle open friars kneeling, while on the right-most, there are the figures of two Holy Bishops. On the newsstand is reported, in two riquadrature, the theme of the Annunciation with the representation of the Virgin kneeling in front of an open book and the Archangel Gabriel. In the portion under the arch, enclosed in cartouches polilobati, the figure of Christ blessing stands out among the symbols of the evangelists.

In the area of ​​the presbytery, paintings on the pillars, we highlight the two frescoes of folk art dellAllegoria Death and ofEcce Homo, the latter dated 1668.

On the wall of the counter you are the faint remains of fragments of the Nativity 1300.

via San Clemente, Guardia Vomano, Notaresco (42.634430, 13.890528)

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