What to see in San Galgano, itinerary including the ruins of the Abbey and the frescoes by Lorenzetti, present in the chapel of the Rotonda, in addition to the sword in the rock.
Tourist information
Known especially for the famous Abbey, San Galgano is a town in the municipality of Chiusdino, south-west of Siena, located on the Montesiepi hill.
In 1180 Galgano Guidotti, who later became a saint, built a chapel while, five years later, some Cistercian monks decided to start building the first structures of what would later become a very influential abbey.
In fact, as early as the thirteenth century the Abbey of San Galgano possessed numerous territories spread over a wide range and enjoyed considerable political authority.
After it was partially destroyed in the fourteenth century by Giovanni Acuto, in the sixteenth century it reached the end of its now past glory.
The ruins of the abbey church manage to make the visitor understand the great and ancient beauty.
Of the construction dating back to 1224 there are three portals and a part of the portico present in the facade.
The sides and apse are opened by mullioned windows, mullioned windows and oculi, while the roofless building elevates the structures of the three naves with pointed arches towards the sky, while the floor has been largely replaced by the grass.
To the right of the church are the remains of the monastery, including the Chapter Hall, the large refectory and part of the cloister.
What see
The Rotonda, also known as the Hermitage of Montesiepi, was built immediately after the death of San Galgano, on the site of the ancient hut where the saint spent the last year of his life.
The hermitage was consecrated in 1185 by the Volterra bishop Ildebrando Pannocchieschi, with the subsequent recognition of Pope Lucius III.
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The small complex is made up of a circular church, a chapel which preserves the frescoes by Lorenzzetti and the entrance porch.
The roof consists of a beautiful hemispherical dome with alternating chromatic bands.
A legend binds San Galgano, the Hermitage of Montesiepi and the Holy Grail.
Montesiepi is in fact one of the many places where it is said that the Holy Grail is buried, that is, the Chalice used by Jesus in the Last Supper.
And the shape of the Rotunda seems to remember just that of an inverted cup.
Inside the hermitage, in the middle of the Rotunda, there is the famous sword stuck by San Galgano in the rock.
Perhaps in some basement, which was unreachable in 1200, the Holy Grail was hidden and San Galgano still takes care of jealously guarding it.
