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Photo: Livioandronico2013, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Close to Fara in Sabina. Monday to Saturday: 9.30-13.00 /15.30-18.00: Sunday: 10.0-13.00 /15.00-18.00. Closed Monday. Farfa Abbey used to control nearly all the nearby towns and villages. It was one of the most powerful Benedictine monasteries in Europe and played a major role in the power struggles between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, opposing the power of the Papacy for centuries. The exact date of the foundation of the Abbey is uncertain. It was abandoned for a period and rebuilt around 680 AD. After a further reconstruction of the monastery during the Renaissance new shops were built around the monastery. These shops can still be seen today and the street names reflect the original uses of each street, for example "via di droghe e cere" (street of medicines and waxes), and "via di panni e sete" (street of cloths and silks). Note the stone slabs at the entrance to each shop which were used as counters by the merchants.
Farfa Abbey is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about 60 km (37 mi) from Rome, in the comune (municipality) of Fara Sabina, of which it is also a frazione (hamlet).
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