Description of the Itinerary
San Marco in Lamis was founded by the Lombards on a hill not far from San Giovanni Rotondo – approximately 4 miles. In the past, it was an important Benedictine, then Cistercian, and lastly Franciscan center.
Places of interest
The Itinerary
The convent occupies a splendid position, plunged in the greenery of the surrounding woods.
The original hamlet most probably dates back to the 10th-11th centuries, and it was built by shepherds who found refuge from the Saracen incursions in the marshland (in latin called lamae).
In the past, at the time of Saint Michael the Archangel’s apparitions, the convent was one of the stops of the “Via Sacra Langobardorum”; thus, it was a place where pilgrims would rest and find temporary shelter before reaching Monte Sant’Angelo: it was a proper hospice. The Benedictines changed the hospice into abbey and it remained one of the main stops for pilgrims. Then, in the 14th century, the convent became Cistercian and it was not until the year 1578 that it was run by the Franciscans. Towards the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th, a relic of Saint Matthew the Apostle was brought to the convent from the city of Salerno where the Apostle’s body had been buried. From that moment onwards, the location was marked as the convent of San Matteo and no longer as that of San Giovanni in Lamis. It also became a center of philosophical and theological studies.
In terms of its external appearance and structure, the convent still preserves the typical simplicity of all Benedictine buildings: a long corridor lighted by large windows looking onto the cloister and leading to the church. The cloister, to which a four-sided portico was probably added during the Benedictine period, was readapted by the Franciscans, who erected a well-head to replace the previous facility.
The church has one nave, with a lunette-barrel vault; on the two side walls, baroque altars were erected in niches.
The shrine on the high altar contains a wooden statue of Saint Matthew; scholars believe it to be a disguised Christ in the act of blessing (13th century).
The ancient stables and sheepfolds today host the convent library with over 60,000 volumes: among these, it is worth mentioning several incunabula, one hundred and fifty 16th-century editions, and the Franciscan library stocks. The library also houses an antiquarium containing pre-historic and Daunian findings. Other rooms currently undergoing restoration will house the Museum of Sacred Art which will be enriched with the many collections of furniture, vestments, votive offerings, etc., that are currently preserved at the convent. The collection also contains an artistic nativity ccene with strikingly fine details.