Abbey of San Galgano

On the plain of the upper Merse valley, the uncovered brick and travertine shell of what was once one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the region stands out in the void. At sunset it is atmospheric, in the evening almost ghostly. Much of its charm derives from the contrast between the splendour and magnificence of the past, and the vindication of nature, with the lawn as the floor and the sky as the ceiling. The religious settlement began with the construction of the circular chapel founded by Galgano Guidotti on the hill of Montesiepi. At the foot of the mountain, following the canonisation of Galgano (1185), the bishop of Volterra had a first small church erected in which a Cistercian community quickly became important. The large church (69 m long and 29 m wide), with an unfinished façade and a Latin cross plan with three naves on 16 pillars, was built between 1224 and 1288 on the model of the French Cistercian churches; it suffered numerous pillages in the 14th century, and in the following century began its decline, until its deconsecration in 1789. On the right is what remains of the monastery: the chapter house, the monks' hall and part of the cloister. In summer, concerts and dance performances of the San Galgano Festival take place there. On the opposite hill of Montesiepi is the hermitage of the nobleman Galgano Guidotti.