Abbey of San Galgano

Abbey of San Galgano tickets: which one to buy

The Abbey of San Galgano stands in the countryside near the village of Chiusdino, about thirty kilometres south-west of Siena, Tuscany, and a ticket is required, covering the roofless abbey church and the Hermitage of Montesiepi on the hill above, with the famous sword in the stone. It is one of the most romantic ruins in Italy, used as a location for films, including Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalghia.

A car is needed to reach the abbey, and it is often combined with Siena, the hilltop town of Monticiano, the thermal springs of Petriolo or a drive through the Tuscan countryside. The abbey hosts summer concerts and events in the roofless nave. The path from the abbey to the hermitage takes about ten minutes. The site has a shop selling local products. Tickets for the abbey and the hermitage are sold at the ticket office near the abbey entrance.

Visiting Abbey of San Galgano: what to see

Galgano Guidotti was a knight from Chiusdino who, according to legend, abandoned his violent life after a vision of the Archangel Michael and, in 1180, drove his sword into a rock on the hill of Montesiepi as a cross, becoming a hermit. After his death, a round chapel, the Rotonda, was built around the sword, and the sword is still there, protected by a glass cover, and scientific tests have dated it to the twelfth century. Cistercian monks built a large Gothic abbey church below the hill between 1218 and 1288, one of the finest examples of Cistercian Gothic in Italy. The abbey declined in later centuries, and in the eighteenth century its lead roof was sold, and the roof and bell tower collapsed.

Today, the church stands roofless, with its walls, columns and arches open to the sky and grass growing on the floor. The chapel at Montesiepi has a striped dome and frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The abbey church's nave has Gothic arches and pillars that rise to the open sky. The windows, without glass, frame views of the Tuscan countryside. The chapter house and part of the monastery buildings survive beside the church. The Rotonda at Montesiepi has a dome decorated with rings of alternating brick and stone. The sword in the stone is displayed at the centre of the chapel. Lorenzetti's frescoes, in a side chapel, show the Virgin and saints. The mummified hands of a would-be thief, according to legend, are kept in the chapel. The cypress-lined path between the abbey and the hermitage is beautiful.

Abbey of San Galgano opening hours and the best time to go

The abbey is open daily, with longer hours in summer. Summer is the busiest season, and the abbey is beautiful in the evening light, when concerts are held. Spring and autumn are pleasant, with fewer visitors and green or golden countryside. Winter is quiet, and the ruins are atmospheric in fog. The feast of Saint Galgano is celebrated in December. Allow about an hour for the abbey and the hermitage, and have lunch in Chiusdino or a nearby agriturismo. The medieval village of Monticiano, about twenty minutes' drive south, has a church with frescoes by Bartolo di Fredi.