History[edit]
This Cistercian abbey is one of the finest examples of the Burgundian Early Gothic style in Italy, dated from around 1135.[1] Consecrated in 1208 by monks of the mother abbey of Hautecombe, retains the bare architecture, the magnificent rose window and finely carved capitals, reflecting the prominent role within the area.
A monk of Fossanova compiled the Annales Ceccanenses down to 1218.
En route to the Second Council of Lyon in 1274, the Dominican scholastic Thomas Aquinas died in the abbey on 7 March. Since 1935 pastoral duties in the local abbey parish were entrusted to the care of Franciscan Friars Community (OFMConv.).