Frescoed Corridor, Chapter Hall and Fountain Courtyard

When Italians talk about “being generous” they say that they have long sleeves, literally “essere di manica larga”. If this is true, we could say that the Church of San Pietro had a sleeve that was… very long indeed. Although today it is interrupted by modern partitions, it is still possible to trace the course of a 16th-century corridor that ran the length of the building, a good 160 metres. At the end wall, the real architecture seems to blur and extend into the painted space. On the short wall between the entrance to the sacristy on one side, and the passage to the chapter hall on the other, an astonishing 17th-century illusionistic painting by the Modenese artist Bernardino Cervi opens up. Between two rows of columns, interrupted by an imposing loggia identical to the one at the entrance to the Latium abbey of Montecassino, St Benedict miraculously exposes the deception of Totila. On learning of Benedict's prophetic gifts, the Ostrogoth king sent a servant dressed in royal garments to impersonate him. But a single glance from the saint was enough to reveal the trick, and Totila was left with no choice but to acknowledge his superior authority.From the corridor, one enters the Chapter Hall. After the church itself, this was the most important space in the monastery. Here the monks gathered to pray, to discuss matters concerning the governance of the cenobium, and to commemorate deceased brothers. It is precisely to the latter that the Latin inscription on two marble floor slabs refers, which reads: "those who remain have not been left behind by those who have departed, but have been preceded by them". This marks the access to the underground tombs of the friars.Exiting the chapter hall, we enter the 15th-century fountain courtyard. In this cloister, originally larger and partly surrounded by elegant porticoes, the monastic apothecary was established, the first pharmacy in Modena open to the public. In fact, one of the tasks of the monks was indeed the preparation of remedies, using medicinal plants cultivated in the cloister garden.