San Fruttuoso (Capodimonte), Abbey of
SAN FRUTTUOSO (CAPODIMONTE), ABBEY OF
Ancient benedictine monastery in the picturesque village of Capodimonte, five miles from Camogli in the province and Archdiocese of Genoa, Italy; it lies in a deep, narrow inlet on the southwest coast of Portofino promontory (Latin, S. Fructuosi ). It was founded at the end of the 10th century and enriched with benefices by the empress, (St.) Adelaide of Burgundy, Queen of Italy. After a period of splendor in the 13th century it later decayed; and in 1550 Pope Julius III converted it into a secular abbey, giving its patronage to the Doria family, in whose possession it still remains. The abbey church with its three aisles is in the pure Lombard style but shows touches of Byzantine and some Provençal influence. The façade and part of the church were carried away by a flood in 1928. There are Roman marble remains in the cloister. Members of the Doria family were buried under the monastery from 1275 to 1305. The adjoining 13th-century palace was restored in 1934.
Bibliography: p. f. kehr, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum. Italia Pontificia, 8 v. (Berlin 1906–35) 6.2:346–347. a. busiri, Abbadia di S. Fruttuoso nella Liguria … (Genoa 1886). "L'abbazia di S. Fruttuoso di Capodimonte," Rivista storica benedettina 10 (1915) 475–476.
[a. olivieri]