Novacella Abbey
The monastery and the canons' cellars
Three kilometres north of Bressanone, among vineyards on the banks of the Isarco, the Abbey of Novacella (Neustift) is one of the largest and most fascinating monastic complexes in the Alps. Founded in 1142 by the bishop of Brixen, Hartmann, as a convent of Augustinian canons and a hospice for pilgrims travelling along the road of the Brenner pass to Rome, it is still inhabited by a community of canons, who run a school, a parish and a famous winery.
Entering the complex, you cross a large courtyard with the "Wonder Well", a fountain decorated with paintings of the seven wonders of the ancient world, plus the abbey itself as the eighth. Next to the entrance, the round Chapel of Saint Michael, known as the "Engelsburg", a twelfth century fortified chapel, recalls Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. The basilica, Romanesque in origin, was transformed in the eighteenth century into a jewel of Bavarian baroque, with frescoes, stuccoes and gilding. The Gothic cloister preserves frescoes of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the rococo library, a splendid hall of white and gold, holds tens of thousands of volumes, including precious manuscripts and incunabula. The canons have been producing wine for centuries, and the abbey's winery is one of the oldest active in the world: it is famous for the white wines of the Valle Isarco, such as Sylvaner, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau and Grüner Veltliner, among the best in Italy, which can be tasted and bought in the abbey's wine shop. The abbey also has a herb garden and a restaurant.
Tip: the library and the museum can be visited with a guided tour; taste the Kerner in the abbey's wine cellar.
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