Liturgical adaptation project of the Cistercian Abbey of Rivalta Scrivia 12th century © Raul Gabriel ©
Premesse
Founded in 1180 by Cistercian monks, the complex ofCistercian Abbey of Rivalta Scrivia represents a superb testimony of atransition architecture which melts the robust geometries of Lombard Romanesque with the vertical thrusts and the structural innovations of French Gothic nascent. The internal spatiality of the church is defined by a rigorous modular scansionThe hall is divided into nine bays covered by majestic pointed cross vaults, characterised by terracotta ogives and supported by four imposing stone columns with circular bundle capitals. An architectural grid that translates into stone the Rule established by Saint Bernard which imposed the stripping of all decorative excess and a rigorous linearity of the forms. These two factors, harmonious solidity and unity on one hand and richness of variations sometimes unpredictable on the other hand, they make the abbey of Rivalta Scrivia a unique case in the design and production of the Cistercian order. The basic setting coexists with a variety of other influences whose implementation, not always effective and sometimes destructive, extends throughout history for more than eight centuries. Considering the destructive interventions, such as the demolition of an entire bay and the subsequent reconstruction of a new façade in the second half of the 17th century, the additions, renovations and demolitions that have affected the building with alternating fortunes from then until today, one is amazed at how the abbey has preserved a clear and powerful track of the thought that developed around the theologian monk Bernard de Fontaine, better known as Bernardo di Chiaravalle, founder of the Abbey of Clairvaux.
Presbytery created by Raul Gabriel for the liturgical adaptation of the Cistercian Abbey of Rivalta Scrivia 12th century © Raul Gabriel contemporary sacred
Project themes
Volume, material and form are the components of a complex language that captured my attention and from which the reflection on the basis of my project for the liturgical adaptation of the presbytery of Rivalta Scrivia, currently practically non-existent, started. This project was entrusted to me with the essential contribution of the liturgical consultancy of Monsignor Vittorio Francesco Viola in his capacity as Bishop of the diocese of Tortona. In the abbey of Rivalta Scrivia I met a garden which never takes over the rarefaction of volumes, of space and light, transfiguration that never denies the flesh of existence.Throughout the building you can perceive a present and solid concreteness, which takes nothing away from the spirit but is grafted onto it exactly like the body onto the soul, of which perhaps Bernardo sensed the inseparable unityThe problem of representation-non-representation and decoration-non-decoration in the abbey of Rivalta Scrivia is solved through synthetic forms of plant and/or phytomorphic elements which reveal the close contiguity of the Cistercian context with the land and its fruits. The volumes of the abbey suggest unity and plurality, define the light in an effective and unique way that accompanies and guides the faithful on their journey. The volumes are managed through geometries, sometimes highlighted by an alternation of materials.Sobriety, harshness and harmonious asymmetry, not perceptible at first glance, convey a non-didactic dynamism, perceptible only by encountering the forms. A constant dialogue between the whole and the detail, in alternating phases, extremely complex like a musical composition with its pauses and its crescendos, its syncopations and its acciaccaturas. A reflection by Bernardo in the Apologia to William reports this passage: so wonderful are the various forms that surround us that it is It is more pleasant to read marble than books, and spend the whole day with these wonders meditating on the law of the Good God . A surprisingly contemporary concept. The material speaks through its very flesh.I am perfectly at ease with this thought, which guided me in designing the presbytery and the liturgical symbols of the abbey. It would be a mistake to interpret it as an invitation to conceptualization. It is instead an invitation to enter into a deeper dimension of corporeality, libera dall’eccesso di un impianto formale narrativo che può risultare didascalico e sfavorevole alla meditazione. Bernard invites us to enter the very "body" of the Church. This thought guided me in the creation of the presbytery and its elements.
