Valvisciolo Abbey

The abbey of Valvisciolo presents itself today as a Cistercian building from the 14th century; still, legend says that it was founded in the 8th century A.D. by Greek monks and then taken over by the Templars, who kept Valvisciolo until their order was eliminated in 1312.
Like many other locations, there are legends and mysteries linked to the presence of the Templars in this abbey...in the entry architrave a crack is still visible that they say formed when the Gran Maestro of the Templars was killed: in many other angles there are engraved Templar symbols, and in a recent era on the eastern side of the cloister the magic palindrome "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS" was recovered.
The Church that we see today has three naves with an austere appearance in Cistercian style, with the remains of a curious painted decoration simulating a stone covering.
You reach the Church by means of an elegant double-columned cloister with a stone well in the middle.