English
The Cloister
Description:
The Abbey’s life stems from the Cloister, and reaches every place of prayer and recreation inside. The original design included a total of four cloisters, each with the dimensions of this only one which was finally constructed. It has become the great opening hall into the grandiosity of the building.
Surrounded by Tuscan columns which support half-point arches and the upper floor. It is simply and soberly decorated like the fountain-pond in its middle, where gold fish, the sun reflections and the encircling plants enhance the warmth and silence, and make a perfect setting for the visitor to be immersed.
The tranquility of a LIVING Abbey is particularly noticeable in this Cloister.
Although its architectonic features are not that elaborate, it is here that the visitor’s curiosity is awakened.
You can feel the Abbey in quiet places like this one; as Julian, our colleague loves to say, in these places of “sounding silence”.
The whisper of water in the fountain, the coloured combination of bricks and plants, and the enveloping four colonnades, point to a performance perfectly identifiable with the place where we find ourselves.
The not-so-distant presence of students some years ago, the visitors’ tours nowadays, the continuous presence of researchers and anyone wishing to approach us, make us feel the Abbey’s life more than ever, as anyone with a good heart has a place in our home.
For, after so many years of history, the Abbey is a reality. And we can tell the visitors that they are stepping into a living monument, which has been continuously growing and providing opportunities for learning, as the Seal of Solomon, which represents us, means to be by and for wisdom.
[kkstarratings]
