MONTALCINO, SIENA, TUSCANY
ABBEY OF SANT'ANTIMO
OUTSIDE
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MONTALCINO, SIENA, TUSCANYABBEY OF SANT'ANTIMOOUTSIDE
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| The abbey of Sant' Antimo is found approximately 18 km from Montalcino, in the vicinities of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. | |||
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For reach it we take the road that from Montalcino goes towardes Seggiano and the Monte Amiata, a few before to reach Castelnuovo dell'Abate we turn right and in a few metres we reach the Abbey. |
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Sant' Antimo is indeed a wonderful abbey constructed in travertino, beautiful is also the landscape that surronded it, but what it's great it's the wonderful inside of the church. Tradition has it that the founding of the imperial abbey of Sant'Antimo is to be attribuited to Charles the Great, even though the first documentation dates back to a deed of the Emperor Ludovico il Pio in the year 813. During the ninth century, thanks to imperial donations and the purchase of the relics of Saint Anthony, the abbey consolidated its prestige and in the eleventh century, due to its close vicinity to the Via Francigena, if found itself inserted into the system of the great European pilgrimage itineraries. The activity of offering refuge and assistence to the pilgrims helped multiply the number of donations made to the abbey, which became one of the most powerful monastic foundations in all of Tuscany, with its properties extending into the countries of Siena and the Maremma. Thanks to the conspicuous donation to the abbey by Count Bernardo degli Ardengheschi, during the years immediately following 1117 the new abbey church was erected to replace the old one, the so-called Carolingia Chapel, which is still visible today. The main testimonies to the Italian and European Romanesque culture deriving from the Benedectine order of Cluny (France) are concentrated inside this new building. |
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The heavy expenses incurred for the building of the new church brought about a precarious economic situation, already documented in 1163, wich signaled the beginning of the decline of this Benedectine abbey, entrusted into the hands of the monks of the order of William II in 1291, and finally suppressed by Pope Pio II in 1462. |
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More than any other building in Tuscany, its features bear a marked resemblance to the France style, greatly mediated however, by the traditional architectural style of local origin, influenced by the lombardy artistic culture. Characteristic of Sant' Antimo it's the type of stone employed in the construction, a particular quality of travertino and onyx, that it confers to the complex a fascination of brightness and transparency. |
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WHAT TO SEE IN THE AREA:Montalcino, Castelnuovo dell'Abate, Buonconvento, San Quirico d'Orcia. |
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WHERE TO STAY IN MONTALCINO:SEARCH for HOTELS and ACCOMMODATIONS IN MONTALCINO (with guest reviews) |
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