ABBAZIA SAN GALGANO
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Majestic gothic Cistercian abbey built in the 13th century in San Galgano leaving an impression of suspended time.
Majestic Cistercian Gothic abbey built in the 13th century. Legend has it that the archangel Michael appeared to the knight Galgano Guidotti around 1170 asking him to renounce material things. Galgano, who had until then led a hectic life, changed his mind and began to preach in the Sienese hinterland. Already in 1185, a chapel was built on the site where Saint Galgano died. Under the impetus of Bishop Pannocchieschi, a Cistercian monastery was successively built there. The monks of the community, supported by Sienese nobles and monks from Clairvaux Abbey, began construction work on the abbey in 1218, which was consecrated in 1288. In the 13th century, the monks of San Galgano assumed a leading role in the economic and cultural fields, and maintained close relations with the Republic of Siena.
Today, the ruins of the abbey of San Galgano, in the form of a Latin cross, attract many tourists. Its particularity lies in its lack of a roof, like Melrose in Scotland or Tintern in Wales. The grass in the fields that surround it has long since invaded the interior. The effect is impressive. Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovski understood it well, he chose it to shoot scenes from his film Nostalghia (1983).
Made of travertine blocks and Sienese bricks, this wonder of medieval heritage leaves an impression of suspended time, and the immensity of the work accomplished by the monk community over the centuries fascinates.
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