In the immediate Milanese urban belt, still immersed in the countryside, the profile of the Chiaravalle abbey stands out.
It is striking the majesty of the structure and the grandeur of the dome with the rope which descends to ring the bell.
The church is completely covered with frescoes, which, although not of Cistercian observance and added at a later date, give an undoubted enrichment to the complex.
The cloister, which recalls monastic meditation, remains intact.
Particular and beautiful is the bell tower called Ciribiciaccola.

A good description is given in the book "Abbazie e siti cistercensi 1120 - 2018", an interesting guide to our rich Cistercian heritage.
During the visit to the complex it is also possible to see the ancient Mill, original in the structure and reconstructed in the wooden part of the internal machinery.

The gray day, with little light, did not make it possible to bring out, in our images, the various colors of both the frescoes and the terracotta with which the abbey is built.

A bit of history:
In 1135, led by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, some monks from the abbey of Clairvaux, Burgundy, founded the abbey which, as a tradition, assumed the name of Clairvaux.
The Cistercian monks dedicated themselves, as usual for their order, to the reclamation of the territory and to the work of the fields.
The abbey, located in the area irrigated by the Vettabbia irrigation ditches, became the center of a fertile farm.
The abbey was finished in 1221 and Archbishop Enrico Settala consecrated the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
During the Renaissance several artists worked on the abbey.
Ascanio Sforza, brother of Ludovico il Moro, in 1447 started a new phase of expansion and decoration to which we owe the portal of access to the guest rooms and the chapel of San Bernardo also called "chapel of women".
Towards the end of the 18th century the complex underwent several demolitions. Unfortunately also the cloister of Bramante was demolished to make way for the Milan-Pavia-Genoa railway.
From 1894 restoration work began and restarted again in 1952 when the Cistercian monks returned.

For more info:
the Chiaravalle Milanese abbey - part 2^nd
abbazia di Chiaravalle
Abbey and sites Cistercians in Italy 1120-2018: by Silvia Testa and Piero Rimoldi, page 108