Abazia Santa Giustina

The Abbey of Santa Giustina was founded, according to local legend, by King Liutprando and dedicated to the eponymous martyr in 772. Enlarged in 1030 by the Marquis Otberto I, it was equipped with a monastery entrusted to the Benedictine monks. Though restored in the 1400s, the church presents itself essentially in its 11th century forms. The outside, in rough stones and bricks, is marked by pilaster strips and crowned with hanging arches; a 15th century tower rises up over the austere facade. The interior has three naves and preserves several frescoes from the Lombardy School dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries: the Last Judgement and the Stories of Christ in the major apse, the Stories of the Virgin in the left apse, as well as some fragments dating back to the Romanesque period. The square crypt is divided into three naves by two rows of columns and is considered to be the oldest part of the building and its floor, a mosaic of black and white marble, has an inscription that recalls Otberto the “restorer” of the church. Private property, openings in conjunction with events and shows