The Story of Santa Maria di Valmarina

Valmarina is the valley extending from the Bastia hill and facing the Ramera area in the Municipality of Bergamo, characterized by a picturesque landscape of terraced meadows, vineyards, and cultivated fields. The monastic complex, located near the road connecting the Val Brembana with Bergamo, far from the city, was built in an area that was certainly wooded at the time, at the foot of the hill called Bastia. The settlement was founded by a small group of nuns of the Benedictine order on a plot of about 660 square meters, donated as a testamentary bequest by the Bishop of Bergamo, Gerardo. This donation facilitated the foundation of four female Benedictine convents. The nuns were devoted to prayer but, above all, to work, and the foundation is part of the history of female monasticism, which was no less important than male monasticism. After the establishment in 1098 of the free Bergamo commune, Vallombrosan monks settled in the area in 1117, receiving various lands in the Astino Valley as a bequest from the commune.

Shortly thereafter—though the exact date is unknown, as the documents were lost, but it is hypothesized to be 1146—a small group of women, called to live a life of prayer and work, received from the Bishop of Bergamo the lands in Valmarina near a small church dedicated to Mary.

The cloister, for female monasteries following the Rule of Saint Benedict, is a practice recommended by the Bishop and willingly accepted, as it fosters seclusion and prayer. Exceptions are made for the abbess, elected by her fellow nuns, when she must leave the monastery to manage its affairs.

The construction of the monastery can therefore be placed between 1146 and 1153. It is indeed mentioned in the Rotolum Episcopatus Pergomi, with a record of a tax paid to the Bergamo church for a plot of land located in the valley called Vallis Marine in 1146, although there are no specifics regarding monastic buildings. The small valley is also characterized by a watercourse, an important element at the time for the foundation of the monastery.

The complex was composed of multiple buildings constructed at different times: the church dedicated to Saint Benedict, the chapter house, the cells, and the refectory. Built as an irregular fortified enclosed courtyard, with the northern part deeper than the east-west section, it provided sustenance for the nuns thanks to the richness of the land, which they were able to cultivate through the creation of terraces. It seems that these terraces, made by removing rocks and stones, gave the name Valmarina—from marra, a term meaning rocks—which was later transformed into mare/marina.

The name of the locality appears to have existed earlier, in 1029, mentioned in the vicinia of Santa Grata inter Vites in Borgo Canale. The original layout was described in a 1367 document, and in some 16th-century cadastral records in considerable detail, preserved in the State Archive of Milan in the "Book of Property Descriptions of the Reverend Monks of Saint Benedict located in the vicinity of Saint Stephen."

By 1160, the community had already acquired the status of an abbey. Referred to in ancient documents as Castrum Monasterii, the masonry clearly reveals its nature as a fortified building, equipped with a tower—now demolished—of which the point of attachment is still visible. Inside the tower was the abbess's apartment, while the other nuns had access to a large communal dormitory whose windows, resembling arrow slits, served as supports for lamps that had to remain lit throughout the night to signal the presence of the monastery to any pilgrims or merchants seeking shelter.

There was a close relationship between the various female monasteries in the area, thanks to the wealthy Bergamasque families and their testamentary bequests, documented from 1160 to 1183, which allow the identification of some of the nuns.

In particular, the bequest of Dominus Girardo Muoizoni, who donated his weapons to the Templars, while his household goods were given to Domina Isabella Vallis Marine—perhaps one of the first nuns present. A second documented bequest came from Morario, son of the late Alessandro Ficieni, belonging to one of Bergamo's most prominent families at the time of the commune's establishment. In 1175, a certain Maifredo de Surlasco donated six denarii in favor of the nuns. Among the families, that of Bonifacio Suardi remained closely tied to the monastery, making donations and bequests through the entire 14th century.

The canon from the Suardi family, a collaborator with Bishop Guala, had numerous interactions with the monastery, indicating how positively these institutions were regarded by the Church of Bergamo. The benefits granted to the female Benedictine community of Valmarina in the 13th century gradually decreased, as the new male monastic communities in the area received greater favors from the successive bishops, Lanfranco and Giovanni Tornielli. Furthermore, the rise of the Guelph and Ghibelline factions, which greatly divided the population of Bergamo, certainly did not favor extra-mural monastic communities.

In 1274, the community was incorporated into the Congregation of the Misericordia Maggiore and was the monastery with the largest number of religious members, comprising 10 nuns and 3 lay sisters. Some names have been preserved, including Abbess Rogeria de Tercio, belonging to the family that most contributed to the maintenance of the order. Among the nuns was also a certain Domina Benedicta de Capitaneo de Zene, who became abbess but in 1299 was involved in a lawsuit for insolvency, possibly related to the purchase of woolen cloth. She was defended by a certain Girardo Valoti, a notary and legal representative. The episcopal vicar excommunicated the abbess for a couple of months on January 10, 1299, but later reinstated her. This indicates a certain economic difficulty for the monastery of Valmarina.

The Cloister

At the beginning of the 15th century, for reasons of physical and moral security—which the remote location could not guarantee—and due to a state of absolute poverty, the Benedictine community abandoned the Valmarina complex to form a monastic group within the ancient city walls, joining the convent of Santa Maria Novella, later known as the Monastery of Saint Benedict, which remains the current cloistered monastery located in Bergamo on Via Sant'Alessandro (between Via Botta and Via Torri). Subsequently, citing the same reasons following the apostolic visit of 1575 conducted by the Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Borromeo, the first group of nuns was joined by those from San Fermo.

The abandoned premises of the Valmarina monastery were repurposed for rural activities, being modified according to new needs.

The event that led to this dramatic decision occurred on October 2, 1393, when the monastery was desecrated by the Guelphs, who were in constant conflict with the Ghibellines near the city of Bergamo. Furthermore, the disciplinati of Bergamo no longer provided protection to cloistered institutions, favoring other, more open monastic orders. The attackers from Sorisole and Ponteranica killed the guard dogs and burned the main gate; the Ghibellines rushed to defend the monastery, but this severe incident led to the abandonment of the site. At the time, the abbess was Domina Pomina (or Pomicta) de Patuzis, who had saved the monastery during the plague in her forty-year leadership, but she had to surrender to the terrible events of the late 14th century, as described by Castelli.

«Die iovis, hora quarta noctis, secundo octobris, certi partis guelfe de Sorisole et de Pontranicha et partis superioris guelfe venerunt ad monasterium vallis marina volentes intrare in dicto monasterio pro comburendo, sed nun potuerunt se tamen comburerunt partom dicti monasteriii et inferficerunt suum canem custodem dicti monasterii. Et ghibellini curerunt in succursum dicti Monasterii et ipsi statim fugierunt versun Plodiziam». (Castelli's Chronicle)

A 1403 deed signed by the abbess and the nun Benedetta of Mozzo, with witness Certoldo, brother of Pomina—filius quondam Pedini dicti Pomi de Patuzis de Bonate—for the exchange of a plot of land in the vicinia of San Lorenzo with one in the Sant'Alessandro area, marks the first act that would lead to the closure of the Valmarina monastery and its relocation in 1430.

In the archive of the Monastery of Saint Benedict in Bergamo, a notary recorded the possession of Valmarina on December 8, 1740:

"A plot of land Ronchina, Avvitata, Pratina, Casata, Boschina, Aratoria, Ortina et Arborina with an ancient oratory called Valmarina, located in the Parish of Castagneta."

During the Cisalpine Republic, with the privatization of ecclesiastical dead hand property in 1796, the complex was sold to the Moroni counts, who already had a residence nearby. They sold it in 1997 to the Parco dei Colli, which established its administrative headquarters and a meeting point for activities.

According to Don Paolo Lunardon, six monasteries formed the Benedictine institution of Bergamo: Valmarina, Santa Margherita of Brembate Inferiore, Santa Maria Novella, San Giuliano of Bonate Sotto, San Giorgio of Spino, and San Fermo in the 16th century.

Archives

In 1364, it is recorded that a nun of the monastery, a certain Jacopa or Pomma de Gredeniano, living in Longuelo, had left the monastery for reasons that cannot be reconstructed, taking the library with her and preserving it well: ad honorem et reverenciam et utilitatem dicte ecclesie et monasterii. However, in the same year, the Milan archive of charters again indicates the presence of the library in the monastery with a list of books, while the oldest charters had already been lost in the 14th century.

With the Napoleonic suppression, further documents were lost, leaving no written evidence of the first two centuries of the monastery, the 12th and 13th centuries. A 1451 inventory, preserved in the archive of the Benedictine monastery of Bergamo, lists the furniture and assets of Valmarina. Additionally, the Liber Ingressionis and the Obituary, although written in the early 16th century, report information from the first half of the 15th century, including the names of the nuns, their date of entry, the roles they held, and their dates of death. Three charters concern the abbey of Valmarina with 14th-century documents. Furthermore, the book of possessions of the Monastery of Saint Benedict, compiled in 1742, includes a list of all properties, among which is the monastic complex of Santa Maria di Valmarina, by then converted to rural property.

Description

The abandonment and conversion to new activities, along with modifications and the addition of 18th-century buildings, make it difficult to trace the original structure, although Romanesque elements are partially visible. The monastery was a fortified structure, among the few present in the Lombardy region. It was composed of the chapter house, the cells, and the church dedicated to Saint Benedict, of which only a few external traces remain. In the area that was the dormitory, there is still a support point near the windows for lamps that had to remain lit throughout the night so that the convent was always visible; for this reason, a nun took a nightly shift to ensure the lanterns stayed lit. There was also a walled press and storage rooms (caneva).

There were probably also a second documented church dedicated to Saint Ambrose and possibly a third, as well as a bell tower with two floors, which also served as a watchtower to alert neighboring monasteries built in the 12th century. The nuns could not attend services in person but only through a grille so as not to be seen by the faithful. During a pastoral visit, it seems a cardinal criticized the overly wide mesh of these grilles, as it allowed the nuns to attract the attention of young men present at the services. The chapter house was located on the ground floor and served as a place for the daily reading of the Benedictine rule. Its current form as a closed courtyard, typical of lowland areas and acquired after its transformation into a rustic yard, is exceptional in the context of farm complexes in hilly areas like Valmarina, where building blocks are generally juxtaposed or arranged in L-shapes or opposite layouts, the result of successive expansions from the late Middle Ages that distributed the elevations along the slope.

However, a second church, probably dedicated to Saint Ambrose, a tower, and the cellar are missing. The portico attached to the original core corresponds precisely to rustic complexes scattered across the territory, from the slopes of Maresana to Sorisole.

Currently, the interior space is used for exhibitions and houses two horse sculptures by Elia Ajolfi, placed on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the park's opening.

Church of Saint Benedict

The complex is composed of the chapter house, the cells, and the church dedicated to Saint Benedict, of which only a few traces remain in the external configuration of the complex. The ancient church, dedicated to Saint Benedict of Nursia, was traditionally oriented with the apse to the east and dates back to 1136. The walls are made of horizontally laid stone, typical of the period, and on the east side, two semicircular single-light windows remain, separated by a pilaster, along with two upper oculi also framed in stone, designed to illuminate the small presbytery of the ancient church. The presbytery was covered by a ribbed vault, while the nave probably had a wooden truss roof. On the exterior north wall, the arch delimiting the northern side of the nave is still visible.

«Questa pezza de tera montiva boschiva sortiva et parte aradora vidata et parte prativa et cum el stallo et una giesia dita in Valmarina, una turi solerata et cum duobus solariis et cum una caminata et cum quadam domo seu ecclesia appellatur ecclesia sancti Ambroxi cum uno torcularii in ea et cum una coquina sita prope scalam et cum una domo solerata que appellatur caneva que amnia predicta aedeficia existentia in dicta pecia terre sita sunt in dicto monasterio et inter muros dicti monasterii et cum una hera et curte et una porticus magna site in dicta pecia terre extra murus dicti monasterii et radenter dictum manasterium»

"This plot of mountainous woodland, partly arable and partly meadow, with a stall and a church called Valmarina, a towered building with two floors, a fireplace, and a certain house or church called Church of Saint Ambrose, with a press in it and a kitchen located near the stairs, and with a two-story house called caneva, all the aforementioned buildings existing on the said plot of land, are located in the said monastery and within the monastery walls, together with a threshing floor and courtyard and a large portico located in the said plot outside the monastery walls, adjacent to the said monastery."