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The inside of the Abbey Church is extremely Gothic in style, with the exception
of the Baroque altar.
If you are at the Casamari Abbey at 10:45 on a Sunday morning, you will
hear mass being called by the melodic sound of bells ringing in the tower
high above. It has been done that way for 800 years.
The ceremony that is performed here is a re-creation of The Last Supper
which is performed in Gregorian chant. (every Sunday)
The Abbey was constructed at a time when The Church was attempting to "play-down"
its wealth. There was to be no display of opulence. That is
why it is so plain in appearance. This can be observed even in the
windows at the far end of the main hall. Stained glass (although
some fine examples of stained glass can be found elsewhere in the monastery)
was considered to be a decadent display of wealth. So, thin slices
of agate were used in the windows. The semi precious stone was polished
only on the inside. From the outside the rough stone blended into
the wall, while from the inside the agate's translucent properties
gave the appearance of a glass window.
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