Gift Shop: Corvus et Columba

In September 2001 we opened a little gift shop next to the basilica, so as to be able to offer to pilgrims and tourists religious articles and high quality monastic products as a memento of their visit to the birthplace of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. The name of the gift shop is Corvus et Columba (The Raven and the Dove): the raven is the symbol of St. Benedict and the dove the symbol of St. Scholastica.   The purpose of the shop is to provide guests, pilgrims and tourists with high quality monastic products, and to contribute to the self-sufficiency of the monastery, “that in all things, God might be glorified.” Because the reliability of Italian shipping is sporadic, at the moment we can only offer the following products for internet purchase and shipment. Alas, the chocolate we produce which so many people request cannot be shipped quickly enough to prevent it from melting. But please check back with us as we hope to find a way to make it available also in the United States.  

Gift Shop Hours:

Sunday: 10.00 – 19.30.

Monday: 11.00 – 13.00 & 15.30 – 17.15.

Tuesday: Closed for cleaning.

The Monastery CD: Vir Dei * Sponsa Christi: Music for the Feasts of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica

You may now purchase this CD stateside at Monastery Greetings.

  In May 2004, the monks recorded their first CD, entitled: Vir Dei * Sponsa Christi: Music for the Feasts of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. Actually, this is a joint project between the monastic chant scola and a new polyphonic men’s ensemble that was established in 2003 for the purpose of singing Renaissance polyphonic Masses in the Basilica of San Benedetto. Here is an excerpt from the CD booklet:   St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were born in Norcia around the year 480, and to this day the down of Norcia celebrates their feast days with great solemnity. St Benedict is honored on March 21 (according to the monastic calendar) and July 11 (according to the universal calendar); St. Scholastica on February 10. In the Basilica of St. Benedict, built on the site of the birthplace of the holy twins, these feast days are marked by extraordinary liturgical beauty…The music heard on this CD is not that of a concert, but the sung prayer of the Eucharistic liturgy. A unique feature of this recording in the interweaving of chant and polyphony. The Mass for St. Benedict has the Propers in chant and the Ordinary in polyphony, whereas the Mass for St. Scholastica does the reverse: the Propers are sung in polyphony and the Ordinary is sung in chant. It is our humble effort to “sing praise wisely” as the psalmist says. Because the musical tradition of the Church is such a glorious treasure, we want to invite you, our listeners, to delight in it with us, so that in all things God might be glorified. 

The Monastery of San Benedetto gladly offers you the following music in honor of St. Benedict. To listen to the recording in its entirely, please contact the gift shop to make your purchase.

mp3 downloads

01 Introitum – Gaudeamus (mp3) 02 Kyrie (mp3) 03 Gloria (mp3) 04 Graduale – Domine prvenisti (mp3) 05 Alleluia – Vir Dei (mp3) 06 Sequentia – Laeta Dies (mp3) 07 Credo (mp3) 08 Offertorium – Desiderium (mp3) 09 Sanctus (mp3) 10 Agnus Dei I (mp3) 11 Agnus Dei II (mp3) 12 Communionem – Semel iuravi (mp3)