Abbazia di Montelabate
The oldest testimony of the Benedictine settlement dates back to 993, when Giovanni di Gregorio gave a substantial portion of land to the monks of the Monastery of St. Maria di Valdiponte, known as Montelabate.
The year of construction of the Abbey is uncertain, even as early as 1030 Giovanni XIX ordered the repair of the monastery, seriously damaged. In 1230 the cloister was rebuilt, probably shot down during a raid of the Saracens. In 1281 the abbot Trasmondo rebuilt the church on the ruins of the former and adorned with valuable paintings. The crypt with three apses, the oldest part of the complex, is located below the upper church and the presbytery dates from the ninth century. The upper church has a rectangular shape, divided into four aisles of two bays each, and has Roman and early medieval columns with cubical capitals and carvings decorated with plant motifs. The rosette window on the front was carved in 1302 on the orders of Abbot Uguccione Monalducci from Perugia. Depended on the Abbey possessions extremely vast: about 20 castles and 30 parish churches.