The visit to the abbey begins at the church’s entrance portal, made up of two marble columns from the Roman period, which support an archivolt constructed with Roman bipedales bricks. This material came from an earlier building, perhaps a rustic villa or a temple connected with the cult of water, later replaced by the monastic complex. At the center of the portal’s lunette stands the Cross of Saint Benedict: a Greek cross that alternates its four arms with four circular disks. Above it, a small shrine houses the image of the Virgin Mary nursing the Child, known as the Madonna Lactans, dating back to the 14th century.
If one observes the window on the first floor, it is possible to notice what remains of an inscription, of which only the right-hand side survives, since the left side was chiseled away due to reuse. It bears the cursus honorum, that is, the sequential and obligatory progression of public offices held by a politician in ancient Rome, in increasing order of importance. Originally, the façade rose only to the first floor; it was heightened during the 13th century to create additional rooms.
