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Subiaco | |
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| Comune di Subiaco | |
 View of Subiaco, Lazio | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Subiaco  | |
  Subiaco Location of Subiaco in Italy Show map of Italy Subiaco Subiaco (Lazio) Show map of Lazio | |
| Coordinates:41°56′N13°06′E / 41.933°N 13.100°E /41.933; 13.100 | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Lazio |
| Metropolitan city | Rome (RM) |
| Frazioni | Cappuccini, Livata, Ponte Lucidi-La Torre, San Lorenzo, Vignola |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Domenico Petrini |
| Area | |
• Total | 63.23 km2 (24.41 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 408 m (1,339 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2022)[2] | |
• Total | 8,490 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (350/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Sublacense(i) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 00028 |
| Dialing code | 0774 |
| Patron saint | St Benedict |
| Saint day | March 21 |
| Website | Official website |
Subiaco is acomune (municipality) in theMetropolitan City of Rome Capital, in theItalian region ofLatium, 40 kilometres (25 mi) fromTivoli alongside theRiver Aniene. It is a tourist and religious resort because of its sacred grotto (Sacro Speco), in the medievalSt. Benedict's Abbey [it], and itsAbbey of Santa Scolastica. It is one ofI Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").[3] The first books to be printed in Italy were produced here in the late 15th century.
Among the first ancient settlers in the area were theAequi, an Italic people. In 304 BC they were conquered by theRomans, who introduced their civilization and took advantage of the waters of theRiver Aniene. The present name of the city comes from the artificial lakes of the luxurious villa that RomanEmperor Nero had built: in LatinSublaqueum[4] means "under the lake". The name was applied to the town that developed nearby. The biggest of the threeSubiaco Dams was then the highest dam in the world until its destruction in 1305.[5] After the fall of theRoman Empire, the villa and the town were abandoned, becoming almost forgotten ruins.
WhenSt. Benedict, at the age of fourteen (c. 494), retired from the world and lived for three years in acave above the River Aniene, he was supplied with the necessaries of life by amonk,St. Roman. From this grotto, St. Benedict developed the concepts and organization of theBenedictine Order. He built twelve monasteries, including one at the grotto, and placed twelve monks in each. In 854 a record noted its renovation. In this year,Pope Leo IV is said to have consecrated an altar to Sts. Benedict andScholastica, who was St Benedict's sister, and another toSt. Sylvester.[6]
Another renovation took place in 1053 under Abbot Humbert of the Abbey of St. Scholastica. Abbot John V, createdcardinal byPope Gregory VII, made the grotto the terminus of a yearly procession, built a new road, and had the altars reconsecrated. By 1200 there was a community of twelve monks, on whichInnocent III conferred the title of priory;John XXII in 1312 appointed a special abbot for the monks. A new road was built by the city in 1688.
The sacred grotto is still a favourite place of pilgrimage. On October 27, 1909,Pius X granted a daily plenaryindulgence to those who receivedHoly Communion there and pray according to the intention of thepope (Acta. Ap. Sedis, II, 405). TheAbbey of St. Scolastica, located about a mile and a half below the grotto, was built originally by St Benedict about 520, and endowed by the Roman patricians, Tertullus and Æquitius. The second abbot, St. Honoratus, changed the old monastery into a chapter house and built a new one, dedicating it toSts. Cosmas and Damian. It was destroyed by theLombards in 601 and the ruins abandoned for a century. By order ofJohn VII, it was rebuilt by Abbot Stephen and consecrated to Saints Benedict and Scholastica.
Demolished once more in 840 by theSaracens and then in 981 by the Hungarians, it was rebuilt each time.Benedict VII consecrated the new church, and from then on the abbey was dedicated to Santa Scholastica. In 1052,Leo IX came to Subiaco to settle various disputes and to correct abuses; a similar visit was made by Gregory VII. Special favour was shown byPaschal II, who took the abbey from the jurisdiction of theBishop of Tivoli and made it an abbacy nullius. Its temporal welfare was also a personal care of the popes. Among others, Innocent III at his visit in 1203 increased the revenues of the abbey.
With the decline of religious fervor, strife and dissension among the monks arose to such an extent that Abbot Bartholomew in 1364, by command of the pope, had to dismiss some of the disputatious monks and fill their places with religious from other monasteries. Numerous monks were brought in from Germany, and for many decades Subiaco was a center of German thrift, science, and art.Urban VI (1378–1389) abolished the position of abbot for life, withdrew from the monks the right of election, and made the administration and revenues the responsibility of a member of the Curia.
The arrival of German monks at Subiaco attracted other Germans. PrintersArnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim established theSubiaco Press here in 1464 and produced an edition ofDonatus, aCicero,De Oratore (September 1465),Lactantius'De divinis institutionibus (October 1465) andAugustine'sDe civitate Dei (1467), which were the first books to be printed inItaly.[7]
Pope Callixtus III, in 1455, gave the abbeyin commendam to a cardinal. The first of these was the Spanish CardinalJuan de Torquemada and the secondRoderigo Borgia (laterAlexander VI), who remodeled the Castrum Sublacence, once the summer resort of the popes, and made it the residence of the commendatory abbot. Many of these abbots cared little for the religious life of the monks and looked only for revenue. One example,Pompeo Colonna,Bishop of Rieti,commendatory abbot since 1506, squandered the goods of the abbey and gave the income to people described as unworthy subjects.
On receiving a complaint from the community, in 1510Julius II readjusted matters and restored the monastic possessions. For spiritual benefit, a union was made between Subiaco and theFarfa Abbey, but it lasted only a short time. In 1514, Subiaco joined the Congregation of Santa Justina, whose abbot-general was titular of St. Scholastica, while a cardinal remained commendatory abbot. Even after this union there were quarrels between Subiaco and Farfa, Subiaco andMonte Cassino, essentially between the Germans and the Italians.
After this little is known from historical records about the abbey and the city until the 19th century. In 1798–1799 and 1810–1814French troops under Napoleon entered the city, plundering the monasteries and the churches. In 1849 and 1867Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered the city as part of his campaign to end the temporal rule of the pope and unify Italy: in 1870 the city became definitively part of theKingdom of Italy.
In 1891, a Benedictine abbey founded earlier in westernArkansas,United States, changed its name toSubiaco as part of an effort to more closely align its teachings and practices to those of the famous abbeys of the Italian namesake.
In the first years of the 20th century, the Subiaco area was improved by national investment in infrastructure, with the connection to arailway, ahydroelectric plant and anaqueduct.Electricity was brought to the houses and a hospital was built. InWorld War II, however, Subiaco was bombed byAllied planes.
In addition to the two abbeys, includingAbbey of Santa Scolastica, also noteworthy are:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Löffler, Klemens (1911). "Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweinheim". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| International | |
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