The abbey of San Gallo was founded in 1085 by the Patriarch of Aquileia Friedrich of Bohemia and consecrated by the Patriarch Ulrich of Eppenstein in 1119.
The history of the thousand-year-old abbey is a reminder of moments of splendor, like those cited in the 1250 document of Abbot Ghiberto, with the minute description of the complex. And a reminder of inauspicious events, like that of 1400 with its sacking by Louis of Teck’s troops, to its abolition in 1884 and the purchase by the Mangilli-Leoni counts, to the earthquakes of 1976 and 2001.
Today, the abbey dominates the valley from the hill of the same name and draws the tourist’s gaze. A popular destination for pilgrims and visitors, the abbey sits alongside the church, the cloister, the prison tower and the Antiquarium – a small museum where the remains from Roman-era and High Middle Ages have been gathered.
Photography by Ulderica Da Pozzo
