Hermitage of San Galgano in Montesiepi

Founded in 1180, it has a perfectly circular floor plan, with a small bell gable and an unusual dichromat in the dome, with concentric bands of terracotta and travertine that echo the external decoration. Under the vault is the rock with the sword (now protected by a glass case) that Galgano is said to have thrust into it as a symbol of the cross and renunciation of the secular life. In the 14th-century chapel, Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted a cycle of frescoes depicting the story of Galgano, now preserved in the Museum of S. Maria della Scala in Siena, where they are periodically exhibited.