Founded between 1040 and 1053, the abbey represents one of the most significant monastic complexes in Piedmont. It consists of walls with circular corner turrets, a high Romanesque bell tower, a Lombard Gothic church and an elegant cloister with a 15th-century cycle of frescoes dedicated to the stories of St Benedict. The situation in the area during the 13th century was rather unstable and dangerous, and so the Abbey, a rather unusual case for lowland complexes, was fortified by surrounding it with a moat and walls strengthened by mighty corner towers, thus transforming it into a shelter for the villagers. Here, the massive bell tower not only had a defensive function, but also represented the last, extreme shelter in case of siege.
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