San Galgano is a town located in the Chianti hills, in Tuscany. Famous for its beautiful Abbey, before the roof, San Galgano is also known because here is the sword in the stone.
We are a few kilometers from Siena, in Tuscany, in Chiusdino. Among the roads that wind through the hills of Chianti, climbing between curves and vineyards, washed down with good wine, gastronomy and legend, and enriched by art, history and culture, stands the ancient Abbey of San Galgano. A few meters from the Abbey, there is the Hermitage of Montesiepi, where the legendary sword of San Galgano. If you want a journey through history, with a pinch of legend and time for a good glass of wine, then read on to find out what to see at the Abbey of San Galgano.
The Abbey
The main feature of the Abbey of San Galgano is that of being without roof. The stone seems to support the sky, if seen from the inside and this gives the complex aaura of magic and suggestion. Silence around. Sunflowers and vines as far as the eye can see, Sienese earth and bare ocher. And cypresses that open the way to this construction that seems to have brought a piece of England to our land. L'gothic architecture in fact it refers to the ancient cathedrals built in Great Britain and in the Nordic countries, with all their charm and their mystery. It is really very suggestive to walk along the great internal nave and discover its corners, as in an abandoned place but still full of history and meaning, where the stones seem to look at us and want to tell something.
After the bell tower collapsed following a storm, ruining on the roof, the church was deconsecrated and so it remained from 1789. The ticket costs 2 € with reductions and free tickets for children up to 5 years and allows you to enter the Abbey of San Galgano, which already looks elegant and majestic from the outside.
The Hermitage of Montesiepi
Once you leave the Abbey of San Galgano, you can take the easy uphill path that leads in a few minutes to the Hermitage of Montesiepi. When Galgano, later made a saint by Pope Lucius III in 1185, withdrew into poverty and a hermitage; the characteristic circular church that can be visited today did not yet exist. That was it erected later, around the rock where San Galgano stuck a sword, the legendary sword in the stone. The church is small but well-kept, with a small souvenir shop next to it and a view that deserves a must. In the adjacent chapel, many frescoes by Lorenzetti, unfortunately deteriorated over time.
The legend of the sword in the stone
Inside the circular room of the Hermitage of Montesiepi, which dominates the Abbey of San Galgano from the hill, is the legendary the sword in the Stone. A symbol of peace for San Galgano, who decided to stick his sword into a boulder to turn it into a cross to pray on, thus depriving it of the meaning of war that usually accompanied this instrument.
Yes, but how do you set a sword in a stone? It's still, is this really the sword of King Arthur? The answers to these questions, of course, are not there. The sword has been analyzed in the past and in recent times with the help of new technologies, but nothing has given a certain report. Experts of medieval weapons they affirmed that the external stump coincides with the shape of the sword presumably inside the rock and modern scientific surveys have actually found the presence of fragments of medieval metal not comparable with modern alloys or steels. Furthermore, one of Arthur's knights was called Galvano and it is interesting to know that both stories took place more or less in the same period, the XNUMXth century.
But from here to weave a certain canvas about what happened at that time and what is the solution to the mystery of the sword in the stone of San Galgano, centuries of legends and myths that influence more or less fantastic stories and tales. Either way the sword awaits you, covered by a glass after the vain attempts of extraction by tourists who have repeatedly damaged the outside, to challenge you to discover its secret.
Where to eat and sleep in San Galgano
In front of the Abbey of San Galgano stands theSan Galgano farmhouse, with a restaurant and a bar and the possibility of trekking, cycling or horse riding around the Abbey. Pleasant stop for a coffee or enjoy the genuine hospitality of the place with a view of the fascinating monastic complex. Going up towards the hermitage of Montesiepi instead, or going down depending on which part of the road you have chosen to board it, you will meet the Going up Wine Bar. Strategic stopping point to admire the Abbey from above, with tables outside or inside the small structure. You can taste the wines of the area, including the Galgano di Montesiepi, produced from the adjacent vineyard; taste the excellent cold cuts and buy ragu, jams and other typical products. Food is served at all times and there wi-fi connection is free.
