| Abbey of San Galgano Abbazia di San Galgano(in Italian) | |
|---|---|
 Interior of the abbey | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic |
| Province | Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Location | |
| Location | Chiusdino,Tuscany, Italy |
 Interactive map of Abbey of San Galgano Abbazia di San Galgano(in Italian) | |
| Coordinates | 43°8′57.87″N11°9′20.26″E / 43.1494083°N 11.1556278°E /43.1494083; 11.1556278 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Italian Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1218 |
TheAbbey of Saint Galgano was aCistercian Monastery founded in the valley of the river Merse between the towns ofChiusdino andMonticiano, in the province ofSiena, region ofTuscany, Italy. Presently, the roofless walls of theGothic style 13th-century Abbey church still stand.
Nearby are the chapel orEremo orRotonda di Montesiepi (1185), the tomb ofSaint Galgano and the purported site of his death in 1181, asword said to have been driven into a stone by Galgano,[1][2] and a chapel with frescoes byAmbrogio Lorenzetti.
The abbey formed around the site of the former hermitage ofGalgano Guidotti (San Galgano), and construction of the church began around 1220, and was completed some six decades later. The abbey grew in wealth and became allied with theRepublic of Siena. Monks from the abbey routinely served asCamarlinghi di Biccherna,[3] i.e. high magistrates of the main financial institution of the republic.[4]
However within a century, the republic failed to protect it from roving condottieri, andJohn Hawkwood and his men despoiled the monastery beginning in 1363. By the end of the 14th century, only the abbot remained in the monastery.[5]
The abbey stayed impoverished and kept decaying for nearly four centuries. CardinalGiuseppe Maria Feroni was abbot from 1765 to 1767. In 1786, thecampanile fell, taking with it the roof of the church. The ruins were looted. Some restorations occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the church remains a ruin. The long tall nave with its windows and an apserose window still stand. The abbey's chapter house and part of thescriptorium also remain.
The Rotonda chapel was restored in 1924 and retains its peculiar medieval shape, similar to earlier Ancient Romanmausoleums.[6]
The abbey was the location where parts ofAndrei Tarkovsky's 1983 filmNostalghia were shot.[7]
Media related toSan Galgano Abbey at Wikimedia Commons
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