The Community of Sant’Antimo

The Romanesque Church of Sant’Antimo was built during the 12th Century, in order to enlarge a pre-existing monastery. As such, the actual structure is the result of different constructions and modifications executed over the centuries.

The one of Sant’Antimo is a community of Regular Canons, a group of priests and brothers dedicated to the liturgical and pastoral services connected to this church: the Rule of Saint Augustine sustains and nurtures their communal life.
Sant’Antimo was a martyr, which means he was put to death by other men on account of his faith. He suffered martyrdom at the beginning of the 4th Century. Some martyrologists assert that he was native from Arezzo, while others claim that he was from Sabina.

The liturgy at the Abbey is held seven times a day and the church is open from 5.45 AM until 9.00 PM. First and foremost the Abbey is considered to be a place of prayer, for which reason respect and silence are demanded during the visits. Visitors are also asked not to use their cameras during the religious services.

There are two guest-houses available where adults, couples, families and youngsters can go and live moments of peace and prayer. These places are equipped for autogestion. It is important to remember that the monastery is a place where one concentrates on nearing oneself to God and that it cannot be used for “taking a holiday”.

At the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo the Gregorian Chant is used in all the religious services. This is quite an original way of praying, according to a very old tradition of the Church. There are CDs published by the Community that give ample information about the Gregorian Chant.
The Abbey of Sant’Antimo is one of the few places in Italy where one can listen to Gregorian Chant as well as learn to sing it and during the year various lessons on polyphonic music used for the liturgy are proposed by the Community. The church-music choirs can also sing during the Sunday Mass.

Items manufactured by various religious communities can be purchased at the bookshop named “L’Arca di Sant’Antimo”. The Edizioni Sant’Antimo have published various interesting books and CDs about the abbey and the Gregorian Chant produced by the community that are also available at the bookshop.

External links
The Community of Sant’Antimo
The Scout Centre Programme at Sant’Antimo