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Agostino Veracini, Niccolò Lapi, Antonio Puglieschi. Ignazio
Hugford and school, and Niccolò Mannelli. Under the choir there
is an elegant cornice and a holy-water basin, both from 1487.
The organ, built by the Tronci Company of Pistoia, dates back
to 1819; it was electrified in 1956. Behind the high altar is
a very beautiful wooden choir from 1445 by Francesco di Poggibonsi.
In the chapel of the Baptistery, a Conversion of St. Paul by
Cesare Dandini; in the chapel of San Giovanni Gualberto, a vault
and gilded Baroque stuccoes, a fresco and a painting of the
18th century, as well as reliquaries which contain a valuable
16th century piece. The chapel of the Ten Blessed Souls, which
preserved an excellent floor with marble inlays and decorations,
from the 18th-century. In the sacristy, a San Giovanni Gualberto
painted in 1508 by Raffaellino del Garbo, an altar piece by
Sabatelli, and a terracotta by Luca della Robbia. The monastery
contains a 15th-century tower, the cloister "del Mascherone",
the cloister "della Meridiana", the library (reserved for scholars),
and the monumental kitchen, (the refectory contains a terracotta
by Santi Buglione, and in the kitchen, a hexagonal fireplace
of 1786), all designed and patronized by Abbot Altoviti. The
monks produce liqueurs made of herbs, such as "Gemma d'abete"
and an Elixir with a base of aromatic plants and herbal extracts
(for information, phone 055/862029; from July to September:
Guest House - phone 055/862074) (Saltino
- Vallombrosa Tourist Board phone 055/862024; Vallombrosa State
Forestry Service phone 055/8667071 - 862131 - 862020; Saltino
"Azienda Promozione Turistica", P.le Roma, 7 - phone 055/862003;
open July-August 9.30 a.m. - 1 p.m.; 4.30 - 7 p.m.; closed on
Sundays). |
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Originating in 1037 as a small
hermitage on the northwestern slope of Pratomagno, the monastery was
founded by the monk Giovanni Gualberto, of the Florentine Visdomini
family. The Monastery was consecrated in 1051, and soon became very
important due to donations and numerous legends, which, during the
17th century, enriched the Abbey with many works of art. Suppresed
by the Napoleonic laws of 1808 and by the Italian laws of 1866, it
was again re-established and is presently the seat of the congregation
of Vallombrosian Benedictine monks. Preceded by a tree-lined driveway,
the Abbey is surrounded by a high wall that is rounded off by a wrought-iron
gate made in 1773, from which there is access to a garden, overlooking
an elegant and austere façade, designed in 1640 by Gherardo Silvani.
The façade has two elevated lateral parts with large windows opening
onto the front. The present building underwent numerous renovations
throughout the 15th and 17th centuries (rebuilt to its original form,
following the damages inflicted on it by the troops of Charles V in
1529), which left profound marks on the building. The abbey is Romanesque
and is in the form of a Latin cross. Entry into the church is through
an uncovered atrium. Erected in 1230, it underwent renovations during
the 17th century (including the 1667 gate, the loggia from 1645 at
the entrance, and the statue of San Giovanni Gualberto, sculpted in
1632 by Bastiano Salvini) in the Baroque style (most noticeable of
the Baroque style is the refectory, which preserves 14 paintings by
Ignazio Hugford). It retains a 13th-century bell tower and a medieval
design with a single nave, semicircular apse surmounted by a cupola
(frescoed by Antonio Fabbrini and Antonio Donati), and transept (on
the altar, a Trinity by Lorenzo Lippi and a St. Sebastian by Cesare
Dandini). Inside the church are numerous 18th-century paintings by
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TuscanyDream/Tuscan Itineraries/Abbey of Vallombrosa
