The church of Santa Maria della Valle, also called Santa Maria della Scala, is known under the name of Badiazza, and was probably built during the 11th century in the Badiazza dried up riverbed of a stream that gives its name to the church. The church, that lies at the feet of the San Rizzo mountains, was recently restored and given back to the citizens and tourists who love to discover historic beauties not too far from the city centre.
The history of the monastic community is unconfirmed. It was founded by Normans at the end of the 11th century or by the Cistercian community founded in the 13th century. The monastery and the original church were enlarged and incorporated together, and the religious site was elevated to the rank of Abbey.
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).