La Trinità della Cava

A marvel, in the pleasant setting of the Metellian valley, in the heart of the Lattari mountains, 3km from the city of Cava dè Tirreni. It was like taking a trip back in time a thousand years, when a group of monks gathers around the hermit Alferio. Already at the entrance, even before entering, one perceives the majesty, the enchantment of the Abbey of the Benedictine Fathers, a place of profound culture and spirituality, unique and indescribable. It is no coincidence that, together with the Abbey of San Benedetto in Montecassino, it was the driving force behind the reform of the Church in the South. Duty to mention the guide, Dr. Anna Russo, who enriched the visit of the various environments visited, with its culture with its precious knowledge, full of curiosity, details and details. The visit to the Abbey of SS. Trinità winds its way on a fascinating itinerary that leads to the discovery of the Cathedral, the Chapel of the Saints Father Cavensi, the Grotta di Sant'Alferio and the Ancient Chapels with 11th century altars, Romanesque Cloisters, Ancient and New Chapter House, Chapel of San Germano, Catacombs, Longobard Cemetery and Museum. 1) Cloister of the thirteenth century. located under a rock on marble columns enriched with Romanesque capitals and raised arches. 2) The Romanesque crypt or "Lombard Cemetery" perhaps one of the few testimonies of the great church that the abbot Pietro, nephew of Alferio, has built in place of the previous one, too modest to accommodate Pope Urban II visiting the abbey in 1092. 3) Hall of the Ancient Chapter of Gothic style dating back to the century. XIII with Roman sarcophagi and frescoes of rare beauty from unspecified periods. 4) Chapter: a gem with wooden backs from the 1500s, entirely frescoed walls dating back to the 1600s and a majolica tile floor from 1770. 5) Museum: a casket with immense treasures, among which stand out paintings, canvases, sarcophagi, sculptures, illuminated choirs and finds of an Etruscan and Romanesque Greek nature. 6) Basilica / cathedral and chapels: Access to the Cathedral is astonishing, it was built in the 12th century. by Abbot S. Pietro and consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1092. The 12th century Cosmatesque ambo remains of the ancient basilica. and the Chapel of SS. Padri (restored and covered with polychrome marble in 1641). The cathedral was completely rebuilt in 1761 Everywhere you look is light and magnificence. Many of the elements inside the Cathedral are from the last century, but precious elements from the past are not lacking: the eighteenth-century wooden choir behind the altar or the canvases on the walls by Nicola Rossi, from 1736, representing the invention and exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the chapel that encompasses the cave of S.Alferio, where the religious lived and died, there is a reliquary that collects the relics of some saints and the altar of the SS. Sacraments with the urn containing the relics of St. Costabile. At the end of the central nave is the beautiful 12th-century ambo, probably a gift from the King of Sicily Ruggiero II, whose wife was buried in the abbey.

Beautiful sacred place in a corner of paradise in the city of Cava de Tirreni. You can get there by car and there is a parking lot just before the entrance. The abbey is free and is a cultural and artistic spectacle .. On the left there is the entrance to the crypt, the old crypt and the museum. € 3 admission (last admission at 12:00) There is a guided tour that is very competent .. I recommend a visit by everyone, it is a unique monument and is not very "sponsored"