Have you just discovered that a real sword in the stone exists in Italy? Or were you struck by the sad story of San Galgano Abbey and decided to dig deeper?
Either way, you’re in the right place!
An excursion a few kilometres from Siena is just what you need to escape the city bustle and discover a story centuries old. Here I’ll explain not only why San Galgano has no roof, but also one of the legends about the famous sword in the stone.
If you’re fascinated by the stories of these ancient ruined churches, at San Galgano you’ll find a place that exudes timeless charm. The stones of San Galgano Abbey will tell you the legend of the knight Galgano, who miraculously drove his sword into the rock and became a hermit.
As in the legend of King Arthur, many tried to pull Galgano’s sword from the ground, but you can still find it in its place today, protected by a case so that no one damages it while trying to slide it out.
Of all the ruined churches I’ve seen, this abbey is one of the most beautiful. Unfortunately, it isn’t the only one in such a sad state.
From the church I’m trying to rebuild in Umbria to many other sacred buildings, all over Europe there are abandoned churches, for one reason or another. In Basilicata, for example, stands the ancient abbey of Venosa, while in France you can discover the abbey of Soissons, along with numerous religious buildings damaged in the Second World War and left this way to remind us of those atrocities.
But here the story is completely different and, perhaps, even sadder.
Shall we discover it together?
Off we go!
San Galgano and the round chapel of Montesiepi
Before San Galgano Abbey was built, a small parish church stood atop the hill of Montesiepi. This is where San Galgano lived until his death in 1181, and where a church was built a few years later to honour his tomb.
The layout is quite simple: the two-tone masonry (the use of two colours) is typical of Sienese Romanesque, while the dome will remind you of ancient Etruscan tombs.
But this place has not always looked this way!
The original building was altered several times over the centuries. One of the most precious additions dates from the 14th century: between 1334 and 1345 the side chapel was frescoed by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, the greatest exponent of Sienese painting, with stories of Galgano’s life, a splendid Maestà and an Annunciation.
But the most fascinating aspect of this place is probably its history.
Who was San Galgano and why is there a sword in the stone
Right where the Montesiepi chapel now stands, Galgano Guidotti drove his sword into the rock as a sign of renouncing worldly goods. This saint, a native of Chiusdino born around 1148, made a choice very like San Francesco’s: he abandoned his dissolute life as a knight and became a hermit, until his death in 1181. The chapel that guards the sword was built shortly afterwards, between 1182 and 1185.
The sword is still inside the chapel today and will surely bring to mind the ancient legend of King Arthur and the sword in the stone. Several scholars have pondered this coincidence, not least because Chrétien de Troyes, the great author of the Arthurian romances, was a contemporary of San Galgano.
Even if the legends of the knights of the round table had probably been passed down orally for decades, it would be intriguing to know whether Galgano’s sword could have inspired the writer.
Do you think it’s such a strange idea?
And yet contacts between this part of Italy and France were frequent thanks to the Via Francigena, and it’s fascinating to think that the Galgano of Tuscany could have inspired one of King Arthur’s knights, the famous Gawain.
Want to know if anyone tried to pull out the sword?
Of course they did!
For centuries San Galgano’s sword suffered from neglect, and many tourists tried to pull it from the rock, damaging it. Today it sits under a protective case and cannot be touched in any way.
Analyses of the metal have confirmed that it is indeed a weapon compatible with the 12th century, and therefore with the saint’s era. Nor is it the only sword of that period embedded in rock: there are others in various regions of Europe.
Whether or not San Galgano influenced one of the most famous stories in the world can’t, I think, be proven, but I like to think the echo of this knight and his sword travelled far. The Middle Ages, after all, are full of knights who became legendary saints: think of Saint Martin, to whom a most unusual cathedral in Lucca is dedicated!
But there’s much more to see here.
Why San Galgano Abbey has no roof
The story of the beautiful San Galgano Abbey is truly sad!
The Cistercians founded it in 1201, creating a genuine masterpiece of Gothic-Cistercian art: it is considered the first Gothic church in Tuscany, of considerable size, and what remains of its decoration suggests it was also very important.
The complex grew quickly, so much so that by the 13th century it was one of the most powerful in central Italy. Just a century later, however, its decline began, caused by plague, famine and repeated sackings. The monks ended up abandoning it in the 15th century, moving to Siena.
But why does San Galgano have no roof?
The decay was caused above all by a wicked commendatory abbot to whom the abbey had been entrusted. To settle his own debts, around the mid-16th century he had the lead of the roof stripped and sold, leaving the church without cover.
From there the decline was slow and inexorable. The final blow came much later: on the night of 6 January 1786 a lightning bolt struck the 36-metre-high bell tower, which collapsed, bringing down much of the vaulting. A second bolt, in 1791, completed the destruction, and shortly after the abbey was definitively abandoned, reduced almost to a stone quarry.
Despite restorations in the following centuries, it’s clear that San Galgano Abbey will never return to its former splendour. And yet, precisely from that loss, this place has taken on a very special charm, making it the destination of thousands of travellers, just like you.
Perhaps this ancient lady of stone hasn’t really lost her roof: she has simply swapped it for an even more beautiful one, the sky.
The Montesiepi chapel and the Holy Grail
Did you think the surprises of this place ended here?
Well, no!
Besides the beautiful abbey and the sword in the stone, a second legend circulates around San Galgano, one that concerns nothing less than the Holy Grail: the cup Christ is said to have used at the Last Supper or, in other versions, the one in which the Magdalene collected the blood of Jesus on the cross.
There are hundreds of legends around the Holy Grail, probably one of the most sought-after objects since the time of the Crusades.
You’ve surely heard of it, or seen at least a dozen films on the subject, haven’t you?
Well, one of these Grail stories claims the cup is buried in the crypts of the Montesiepi chapel, guarded by San Galgano himself.
But is it really so?
We’ll probably never know, but this tale too has helped give the Montesiepi chapel and San Galgano Abbey a charm unique in the world.
Other ruined abbeys
San Galgano was not the only abbey to be abandoned to ruin.
If we think, for instance, of the abbey of Soissons in France, we realise this fate has befallen magnificent religious buildings in various parts of the world. In Germany, Scotland and Wales too there are splendid churches half-destroyed by neglect and time.
As evocative as this place is, we should be glad that San Galgano in Italy remains an almost isolated case! A very similar building stands at Venosa, but there the story was completely different.
For an art historian like me, it’s truly sad to see such a majestic building reduced to ruin and almost left to itself.
How to get to San Galgano and practical information
San Galgano is in the Val di Merse, along the road connecting Siena and Grosseto, about 50 minutes by car from Siena. If you’re visiting one of these cities, it won’t take you long to get there.
The reference town is Chiusdino: to reach the abbey you’ll exit at San Lorenzo a Merse and then follow the signs for the Abbey towards Monticiano. I’d recommend a car, because by public transport the site is really awkward to reach.
A few useful details, always to be double-checked before you set off:
- Hours: the abbey is open every day, from morning until sunset; the Montesiepi chapel generally from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (6:30 pm in summer).
- Tickets: full price about €6, reduced €4-5, family ticket around €15. A single ticket gives access to both the abbey and the San Galgano museum in Chiusdino. Free for residents of the municipality and children under 6.
- Since the site is remote and its history is rich in legends (the sword, the Grail, Lorenzetti’s frescoes), a guided visit to the abbey and Montesiepi helps you grasp all its charm, often combined with Siena or the nearby villages.
And you - would you like to step into this open-air cathedral and imagine Galgano’s sword inspiring the tales of King Arthur, or have you already had the good fortune to visit it?
