Italy's oldest Cistercian abbey stands, as the rule prescribes, in a lonely site to the south of Rome. The abbey church, begun in 1163, served as a model for many Italian churches. Consecrated in 1208, the church is in the Burgundian style, although many decorative details recall the Lombard tradition and even the Moorish style. The cloisters are also well worth a visit. St Thomas Aquinas died in the guest house in 1274.