San Vincenzo al Volturno

The monastery of San Vincenzo rises along the banks of the Volturno
river in the territory of the municipality of Rocchetta, in a splendid
scenery between the mountain chains of Mainarde, Meta and Matese.
In the late Roman era there was already a church dedicated to St. Vincent of Zaragoza, built by Emperor Constantine. The foundation of the monastery is placed in the seventh century by the monk John and by the will of three nobles from Benevento, the Holy Founders Paldone, Tatone and Tasone. In 787 at the behest of Charlemagne, who granted significant tax privileges, the monastery became, under the leadership of Abbots Joshua and Epiphanius, a very important monastic reality in central-southern Italy, during this period here lived a community of 350 monks. In the ninth century, the monastery lived tragic moments, in 848 it was hit by a serious earthquake that destroyed several buildings; in 860 it had to suffer the harassment of the then emir of Bari, Sawadan, who demanded and received a tribute of 3000 gold coins, under penalty of looting and destruction of the monastery; in 881 a group of Saracens, in the service of Duke Athanasius II of Naples, plundered and burned the monastery. The help of the German emperors, Otto II and Otto III, led to the rebuilding of the monastery.