Lucedio Abbey was built in 1123, when a large area of swampy land was given to Cistercian monks by the Marquis of Montefract. The monks set up a monastery on this site near Trino and made a success of cultivating rice there. However, there were darker events happening beneath the surface of this seemingly ordinary monastery. Lucedio has attracted ghost-hunters, teams of paranormal experts and television crews from all over the world and still has a certain morbid appeal. Believers and sceptics alike will be terrified and fascinated by the tale of the monastery so find a vacation rental in Piedmont and set out to explore this horrifying site.
It is uncertain as to when things took a turn for the worst at Lucedio. However, according to local legends, a group of witches held a Sabbath in the nearby cemetery of Darola during which Lucifer himself materialised. He is said to had possessed the young novices of the convent of Trino Vercellese, not far from Lucedio, who then managed to seduce the monks. What followed was a century of perdition, sin and Satanism at the abbey. Pope Pius IX eventually closed the monastery down. Accusations of torture, black magic, sexual abuse and rape abounded. Historians, however, tend to believe these accusations were crafted to destroy a community which had become too powerful and rich for its own good.
Pius is also said have had demonic presence which created havoc at Lucedio captured and imprisoned in a secret crypt underneath the abbey's church of Santa Maria. The crypt was also where the abbots were buried, and some of them were buried in a circular position which is said to have been done to make sure they kept an eye on their demonic prisoner. Mysteriously, all the abbots became mummified naturally.
Inside is a chamber called The Judgement Room which is where it is said the satanic monks put people on trial for various “crimes”.
These prisoners were usually young men, who were sodomised and tortured. A pillar in the room is said to permanently run wet, as if with the prisoners’ tears and, while sceptics have attributed this to a leaky roof, when someone put a bucket there during a televised ghost investigation, the bucket stayed dry.
The abbey changed hands many times after being closed down and once even belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. Many myths surround the abbey. Tales of screams, chanting, eerie mists, strange shapes, hooded figures and, even, the appearance of demons abound. During renovation work the corpse of a perfectly preserved man was found incarcerated inside a wall.
Today the abbey is an organic rice farm which is open to the public for visits, receptions and cooking classes. Whether you're feeling a bit peckish or are fond of a ghost story, this corner of Piedmont has it all.
Inside is a chamber called The Judgement Room which is where it is said the satanic monks put people on trial for various “crimes”.
These prisoners were usually young men, who were sodomised and tortured. A pillar in the room is said to permanently run wet, as if with the prisoners’ tears and, while sceptics have attributed this to a leaky roof, when someone put a bucket there during a televised ghost investigation, the bucket stayed dry.
The abbey changed hands many times after being closed down and once even belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. Many myths surround the abbey. Tales of screams, chanting, eerie mists, strange shapes, hooded figures and, even, the appearance of demons abound. During renovation work the corpse of a perfectly preserved man was found incarcerated inside a wall.
Today the abbey is an organic rice farm which is open to the public for visits, receptions and cooking classes. Whether you're feeling a bit peckish or are fond of a ghost story, this corner of Piedmont has it all.
Photo credits
picture 1: Georgius LXXXIX / CC BY-SA 3.0
picture 1: Georgius LXXXIX / CC BY-SA 3.0