The abbey was founded between 940 and 944 by one of the Longobard princes of Benevento , either Atenulf II or Atenulf III . The first recorded documents related to the abbey date back to 1164 . It was inhabited by a succession of monastic orders : at first the Benedictines monks , for whose use it was initially intended , then the Celestines and then the Humiliati . The abbey owned several fiefs . In 1303 the Anjous attempted to incorporate the abbey into another abbey , that of Santa Maria in Mazzocca , near Foiano di Val Fortore . A popular revolt from the inhabitants of the area halted the plan . In 1660 , the abbey was given to the Camaldolese monks , but it was abandoned after the 1688 Sannio earthquake . It was deconsecrated by Cardinal Orsini ( later Pope Benedict XIII ) in 1705 because of its state of neglect and the continued attacks by brigands , who later used it as a refuge because of its strategic position . The parchments produced in the abbey were bought at the beginning of the 19th century by antiquarians , and were donated by their heirs to the Società Napoletana di Storia Patria ( it ) , where they are still kept
1688 Sannio earthquake
1688 Sannio earthquake
Santa Maria in Gruptis