Abbey of San Galgano

About this place

The Abbey of Saint Galgano was a Cistercian Monastery founded in the valley of the river Merse between the towns of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. Presently, the roofless walls of the Gothic style 13th-century Abbey church still stand. Nearby are the chapel or Eremo or Rotonda di Montesiepi, the tomb of Saint Galgano and the purported site of his death in 1181, a sword said to have been driven into a stone by Galgano, and a chapel with frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The abbey formed around the site of the former hermitage of Galgano Guidotti, and construction of the church began around 1220, and was completed some six decades later. As you explore, compare the building itself with its decoration and later additions. Differences in materials, forms and imagery can reveal successive periods of patronage, making the visit a way to understand how religious places evolved over time.