Qualla: Staffarda Abbey https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Staffarda Abbey https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey Staffarda Abbey: Introduction https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey/ Photo credit Ziegler175, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1135, Manfred I, Marquis of Saluzzo, granted land in the marshy plain of northwest Italy to the Cistercian order for a new monastery. The monks came from Tiglieto Abbey, the first Cistercian house in Italy, and they brought with them the order's genius for transforming unpromising terrain into productive farmland. Staffarda Abbey -- the Abbazia Santa Maria di Staffarda -- grew from that grant into one of Piedmont's most important medieval institutions, a place where prayer and agriculture were practiced with equal discipline.

Read more: Staffarda Abbey on Qualla

Image: Ziegler175 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/spvq-staffarda-abbey-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Staffarda Abbey: The Cistercian Method https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey/ Photo credit Eric Walter, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Cistercians were, above all, practical. They chose remote sites, drained marshes, cleared forests, and built efficient agricultural operations that fed their communities and generated surplus for trade. Staffarda followed this model precisely. The monks established a flourish...

Read more: Staffarda Abbey on Qualla

Image: Eric Walter | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/spvq-staffarda-abbey-the-cistercian-method.mp3 0:06 2 full Staffarda Abbey: The Codex and the Composer https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey/ Photo credit Paris Orlando, CC BY-SA 4.0. Staffarda's most unexpected legacy is musical. The Codex Staffarda, a manuscript dating to the 1480s or 1490s, contains polyphonic works by Renaissance composers including Jacob Obrecht and Antoine Brumel. It also preserves the earliest known polyphonic setting of the Dies Irae, ...

Read more: Staffarda Abbey on Qualla

Image: Paris Orlando | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/spvq-staffarda-abbey-the-codex-and-the-composer.mp3 0:06 3 full Staffarda Abbey: Van Dyck's Abbot https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey/ Photo credit Geobia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Around 1634, Anthony van Dyck painted a portrait of Cesare Alessandro Scaglia di Verrua, who served as abbot of Staffarda. Scaglia was a diplomat and political figure whose career extended well beyond the monastery walls -- he was involved in European diplomacy during the Thirty ...

Read more: Staffarda Abbey on Qualla

Image: Geobia | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/spvq-staffarda-abbey-van-dycks-abbot.mp3 0:06 4 full Staffarda Abbey: From Order to Order https://qualla.com/staffarda-abbey/ Photo credit Vilma.bono, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1750, Staffarda was placed in commendam to the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, a dynastic order associated with the House of Savoy. This transfer marked the end of active Cistercian life at the abbey, though the buildings survived and continued to serve various institutio...

Read more: Staffarda Abbey on Qualla

Image: Vilma.bono | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/v/q/staffarda-abbey-wp/spvq-staffarda-abbey-from-order-to-order.mp3 0:06 5 full