Abbey of San Felice and Mauro

About

The Abbey of San Felice e Mauro is a Roman Catholic complex including what is now the rural parish church of San Felice, a Romanesque and Gothic-style former monastery church, and the attached abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, now a rural inn and restaurant. The abbey is located just outside the hillside hamlet of Castel San Felice, which is less than a kilometer north of the small town of Sant'Anatolia di Narco. The valley area known as the Valenerina is located a handful of kilometers east of Spoleto, in the Province of Perugia, region of Umbria, Italy.

History and description: A Benedictine monastery appears to have been established here by the 12th-century; tradition holds that Saint Maurus, a 4th-century Roman soldier from Syria, left with his son, Felix, to move to this area of Italy, perhaps practicing an eremitic life in caves in nearby mountains. Legend also hold that, like St George, Maurus slew a dragon that had unleashed terror on the community. Legend also holds that his son Felix, with angelic help miraculously resurrected a dead child. When Felix died, his father built a small chapel to house his tomb. The structures we see now underwent various reconstructions...