It is nothing more than a monastery rich in history in the heart of the Venetian countryside, which evokes the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and the pilgrims traveling to Rome.
The monumental complex of Carceri dates back to the 12th century when some Augustinian monks, who had settled in the district and enjoyed the protection of the Estensi, were given some lands by the Duke of Bavaria where they built a monastery and the first church perhaps by modifying an existing oratory. later they also erected a hospice to welcome pilgrims.
At the end of the century the friars had enlarged the church which was consecrated in 1189 by the Patriarch of Aquileia. Great was the
They helped to overcome famines, plagues, floods that periodically occurred together with the scourge of the many armed bands that crossed the district in the pay of the various Lords. In 1690 Pope Alexander VIII, to help the Republic of Venice in the war against the infidels, also put up for sale the entire monastic patrimony of Carceri which was purchased by the Carminati family, rich Lombard merchants residing in Venice.
the Carminati decided to make the new property an agricultural farm and brought to the complex all the necessary changes in this change of use of the buildings was seriously altered, a large part of the structural system of the monastery was destroyed and the rich heritage was also alienated and dispersed not only books that the friars had gathered over time and that had made the Abbey of Carceri a cultural center of great importance.
Unfortunately this huge heritage is outside the big tourist circuits, in fact many tourists do not know it, but it is definitely worth a stop, I hope next time to be able to visit it inside.
