A great Benedictine abbey and its village of artisans in the Sabina
In the gentle olive-covered hills of the Sabina, near Fara in Sabina, the Abbey of Farfa was one of the most powerful monasteries of medieval Europe. Founded in the sixth century and refounded in the seventh, in the time of Charlemagne it ruled vast territories and had its own fleet; its library and scriptorium were famous.
Today a small community of Benedictine monks still lives there. The church has a Romanesque bell tower, a Renaissance interior with frescoes and remains of the Carolingian crypt. Around the abbey lies a tiny village of stone houses along two streets, where once merchants stayed during the great fairs; today it is home to artisans' workshops, weavers, potters and wood carvers, and shops selling the monks' liqueurs and the famous Sabina olive oil.
Tip: the Sabina olive oil is among the oldest protected in Italy; the abbey also offers simple hospitality for those who want a few days of silence.
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