Abbazia di Galgano
 Seldom has there been a monument without a history behind it. The world famous Abbazia di San Galgano (Abbey of San Galgano) is no different. Named after the knight San Galgano Guidotti (1148-1181), this spectacular structure is as splendid an example of Italian Gothic-Cistercian architecture as any that one would find. Once a majestic monastery, this building slowly went to the ruins and has lost much of its earlier grandeur.
San Galgano, born in 1148, became a lusty and vicious knight. Once Archangel Michael appeared and showed him how to redeem himself and also the place he should go to for the purpose. Galgano knew that it was time he changed. Paying his final respects to his mother Dionisia, he started his journey. Along the way, he heard an irresistible voice which led him to the top of a scraggy little mountain-Monte Siepi. Here he found a round temple along with Jesus and his Apostles. The voice further bid him to abdicate worldly pleasures. San Galgano reacted by saying that it was as easy as cutting rocks with his sword. Then the unbelievable happened. The voice asked him to try and when he plunged his sword into a nearby rock, it drove into it effortlessly.
Galgano became convinced that God was with him and decided to become a hermit. He lived in poverty in the forests and had wild animals for company. He also counseled the local farmers who sought his grace. Legend has it that the Devil soon sent him his messenger in the form of a monk, but the wolves that surrounded Galgano, scented evil and tore the malicious monk to pieces and chewed at his bones. On year hence Galgano died.
 The Bishop of Volterra gave the mountain Siepi to the Cistercian monks. They started building a shrine in 1185 and soon turned the mountain into a beautiful round temple. Galgano’s hair magically began to grow for a long time after his death and his head and the chewed forearms of the evil monk were placed in the shrine. This attracted large crowds and slowly the need for another monastery was felt by the monks. Thus was erected one of the most exquisite Gothic structures in Italy - the ‘Monastero di San Galgano’. The monks from the place became powerful and gained country-wide recognition. But power soon corrupted. They wanted to exploit the property and hence sold off portions of the roof of both the round temple and the monastery in 1548 which caused the roof to cave in partly. By the year 1550, there was just a solitary poor monk in the monastery. All these were sure signs of the decadence of the once majestic monastery. It was completely neglected and in the early 1700s the Pope was forced to deconsecrate the monastery. In 1789, the 35-meter high bell tower collapsed and along with it, what was left of the grand roof as well. If not for the restoration and maintenance work that has been carried out since the morning of this century, all that would be remaining now would have been a huge pile of rubble.
Located at about half an hour’s drive southwest of Siena, this baronial structure is one of the star attractions of Tuscany. The frescoes on the monastery were done by the great painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Some of the paintings are still visible thanks to the restoration work that had been carried out. Evening light streaming in through the niches in the walls and washing the surfaces with gold creates an ethereal effect. Just walking on the soft grass on the floor surrounded by those majestic brick walls, will give one a feeling of royalty. The rows and rows of solid pillars give an idea of how sturdy the structure would have been in it’s hey days. Concentric circles made of alternating white stone and Terracotta, on the roof right on top of the sword of Galgano, gives one a dizzy feeling.
One more bizarre twist to the tale is that the lore of the sword pierced in the stone, could have originated in Tuscany and later consigned to France to become the well-known saga of King Arthur. There are factors which both defend and oppose this story. Whether true or not, nothing can take away the fact that this place is worth more than a visit. The history and the myths behind the place would take one far back into time…And never want to come back to the present. |
