3217 - Pomposa


When we left Ferrara, the rain was over and it was predicted to become a bright, sunny day.

Therefore we decided to not take the highway back, but instead make a detour via Pomposa, an old Benedictine abbey south of the Po delta, east of Ferrara and near the sea.

Bright and sunny it was not. There was a big rain cloud over Pomposa, but thankfully it unloaded a few kilometers to the west.

The abbey was abandoned in 1650 and therefore never underwent the baroque conversion that changed the character of so many churches. This is really old Christian architecture like you can see it in much of Italy (Rome, Ravenna and Aquileia come to my mind), richly frescoed, the typical early basilica with a wooden roof and mosaic floors.

Wonderful also the fresco of the final judgement as you can see it in the Image of the Day.