THE CISM

It is based on the ancient concepts of Philosophia, Scientia et Vita, which are based on three pillars of research aimed at the knowledge, the recovery, and the enhancement of a rich common heritage, but  not exclusive to monastic life, which acts as a link between different cultures now without borders.

THE LIBRARY

The library, which will host thousands of volumes, is intended to support scholars who carry out research especially in the field of monastic studies, ranging from archeology to medicinal herbs. The library also has archival documentation on the former monastery of San Giorgio in Vado.

THE EVENTS

San Giorgio in Vado in Cividale del Friuli: history and artistic heritage
International study conference
Cividale del Friuli, 9-10 March 2024

The international conference entitled San Giorgio in Vado in Cividale del Friuli: history and artistic heritage was held in the San Francesco complex, which saw the participation of scholars from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Spain. The conference was organized by the International Center for Monastic Studies in collaboration with the Department of Humanistic Studies and Cultural Heritage (DIUM) of the University of Udine and with the support of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Ministry of Culture and the Foundation Friuli.

The institutional greetings and the introduction to the conference were made by the curators Maurizio d'Arcano Grattoni and Francesco Fratta de Tomas (professors at the University of Udine) and by Lorenzo Favia (president of the International Center for Monastic Studies). This was followed by reports by Rainer Weissengruber (Kollegium Aloisianum, Linz/A), The monastic rules of the late ancient and early Middle Ages: contents and languages; Andrea Tilatti (University of Udine and Deputation of Homeland History of Friuli), Female religious presences in the Cividale area in the late Middle Ages; Federico Vicario (University of Udine and Friulian Philological Society), Fondi Cividalesi and Friulian origins; Mirjam Brecelj (Frančiškanski Samostan Library, Nova Gorica/SLO), The Stanislav Škrabec Library of the Kostanjevica Convent; Jasenka Gudelj (Ca' Foscari University), The church of San Francesco in Cres.

Saturday evening followed a particular concert, in the evocative Sala degli arches in the same complex as San Francesco, with Elena Modena and Ilario Gregoletto (InUnum Ensemble), with music from the 12th to the 15th century and on ancient instruments. Of note is the performance of the Tota pulchra es Maria, a piece from the Gregorian repertoire present in a parchment recently found in the sacristy of San Giorgio.

On Sunday the conference resumed with the report by Pierpaolo Zanchetta (Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Central Directorate for agri-food, forestry and fish resources, Biodiversity Service), Around San Giorgio in Vado: stable meadows between contemporary ecology and history; Lorenzo Favia (International Center for Monastic Studies), The historic gardens of San Giorgio in Vado; Angela Borzacconi (National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli) The complex of San Giorgio in Vado: the voice of archaeology. Research and perspectives; Stefano Tracanelli (restorer), The frescoes of San Giorgio in Vado; Sandro Piussi (Diocesan Archives and Libraries of Udine), Thomas Becket, cult and iconography in the seasons of the Aquileian Church, Marco Vignola (medieval historian), The representation of weapons in the frescoes of San Giorgio in Vado; Erica Martin (textile historian), The ecclesiastical wallpapers of San Giorgio in Vado; Voravit Roonthiva (Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona/E), The prismatic typology of Medieval choir stall: the unpublished example of San Giorgio in Vado.

The conference will have its ideal continuation in autumn with an exhibition dedicated to the artistic heritage of San Giorgio in Vado, which will be set up in the church following the completion of an important restoration work on the apse with PNRR funds. For the most part, these will be works of art that have never before been studied and exhibited to the public. In fact, in addition to the valuable frescoes, well known and well-known, the complex still preserves wallpapers, liturgical furnishings and wooden stalls, among the oldest in Italy and which for the occasion will be recomposed and virtually relocated to the position they occupied in the Middle Ages.