Crypt Of Epiphanius, Abbey Of St.Vincenzo Volturno, Rocchetta A Volturno, Castel San Vincenzo, Isernia, Italy Stock Photography

The Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno is a historic Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the municipalities of Castel San Vincenzo and Rocchetta a Volturno in the Province of Isernia, in the Upper Volturno Valley, Campania, Italy.The north church, nicknamed "Epiphanius' crypt", is part of the complex of San Vincenzo Minore. It is a building with a single nave originally covered by wooden trusses, ending with a three-lobed and raised apse, which preserves traces of frescoes. In the presbytery part of an altar remains, consisting of a stripped column drum. The facade is preceded by a narthex, built in the 9th century. In the crypt there is a tomb of an unknown person, perhaps Abbot Epiphanius (in office from 6 October 824 to 13 September 842, according to the Chronicon Vulturnense), or another character strongly linked to the historical events of the monastery, portrayed in the major fresco.Inside the excavations there is also the church of Santa Maria Insula, also called San Lorenzo, because inside it is decorated with an intact cycle of frescoes from the 9th century, which show scenes from the life of the Madonna, of Jesus, with the martyrdom of Saint Stephen and Saint Lawrence, and the final section from the "Apocalypse of John", and a procession of girls with gifts in Byzantine style, very similar to the mosaics of Ravenna. The frescoes are very precious because they testify to an important phase of the Lombard pictorial style, created at the time of Abbot Epifanio, represented at the foot of the Cross, with a square halo painted on his body, indicating that the character was still alive at the time of realization.