THE ABBEY OF RIVALTA SCRIVIA
The Cistercian Abbey of Saint Mary is a religious building belonging to the monumental complex of Rivalta Scrivia, a few kilometres from Tortona. The church of Rivalta is the only remaining part of the abbey complex, founded by the Cistercian monks in 1180. The building is an accurate example of Cistercian architecture, blending Romanesque Lombardian and French Gothic styles.
The monastery respects the dictates of the Rule enshrined by Saint Bernhard, outlining extreme simplicity and linearity of form. The Abbey's church gained even more historical and artistic merit thanks to an ornate fresco decorating its internal walls, pillars and a few of the altars, done by the Castelnovese painter Franceschino Boxilio. One can admire the resplendent loggias of an imposing noble residence, neighbouring the Abbey, built in the second half of the eighteenth century.