Matrice. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada
Nostra Signora della Via (Italian: Santa Maria della Strada) is an abbey in the municipality of Matrice, Campobasso. The date of construction of the abbey is not known, but it was consecrated in August 1148 by Peter II, archbishop of Benevento. In 1153 it appears in a list of churches and monasteries under the jurisdiction of Peter II drawn up for Pope Anastasius IV. The first abbot may have been called Landulfus, as "Abbas Landulfus" was engraved on a paving stone inside the church. Nazzarius is named abbot in a document from 1176. His foundation has historically been linked to the monastery of Santa Sofia of Benevento, but there is no evidence to support this claim. It is possible that the great abbey of Montecassino was involved, but the fact that the abbey is not listed as a subject house in medieval documents casts doubt on this claim. The eponymous Santa Maria de Strata appears in a register of the Abbey's possessions, but is believed to refer to a separate monastery in the vicinity of San Germano.