Italy Time Tuscany San Galgano & The Real Sword In The Stone

San Galgano & The Real Sword In The Stone

san galgano

San Galgano is the name of a nice abbey near Siena in Tuscany, inside of this Abbey you can find the real sword in the stone.

Galgano Guidotti was an important knight he was named a saint after being a hermit for most of his life.

The abbey built by monks was made around 1180 and if you go visit it now you will be able to see different monuments.

  • The Hermitage Of Montesiepi. (built-in 1180/ the tomb of the saint.)
  • The Great Abbey. (built-in 1220.)

The Cistercian monks had developed an extraordinary knowledge of the evocative power of the symbolic forms that were built using precise geometric codes, kept strictly secret.

People who studied this abbey found many similarities with the forms used by the Egyptians in the pyramids.

 

San Galgano Abbey

San Galgano Abbey

 

It was demonstrated that the tomb of Meryatum in Egypt is very similar to the structure of the San Galgano Abbey.

On top of all of these nice things, inside of the hermitage of Montesiepi you can find the real sword in the stone.

Someone says that San Galgano was able to embed the sword in the stone thanks to a miracle.

In 1550 Girolamo Vitelli sold the roof made with lead (Tetto Di Piombo) and in 1789 the great abbey was deconsecrated and left definitively to ruin.

 

San Galgano And The Hermitage Of Montesiepi

The Hermitage of Montesiepi became famous for the sword in the stone next to the tomb of Galgano Guidotti.

If you are planning to visit these monuments you probably need a car.

You can find the address on the map below.

 

 

Address: Strada Comunale di S. Galgano, 53012 Chiusdino SI, Italy.

My advice is to get a hotel in the area or an Airbnb.

There are a lot of nice landscapes around the area worth your time.

Otherwise, you can sleep in Siena and just go there for a day visit.

The abbey is open every day more or less depending on the season from 9 am till 5 pm.

You can find it open until 8 pm in the summer.

The ticket costs on average $3.50 depending on your age and seasonality and you will get access to the museum of the city as well.

The hermitage of Monetsiepi it’s free!

 

Hermitage Of Montesiepi

Hermitage Of Montesiepi

 

The Sword In The Stone Of San Galgano

One block away from the cool roofless abbey of San Galgano you can find the hermitage of Monetesiepi.

Inside of it, you will be able to find the sword in the stone that san Galgano was able to stick in the rock thanks to a miracle.

I don’t believe in miracles but no one knows yet how he was able to stick the sword in the stone.

He was buried next to the stone and the sword.

 

sword in the stone of san galgano

Sword In The Stone Of San Galgano

 

Some idiot tried to pull the sword not so long ago and broke the sword.

The sword got fixed by someone and now you can not touch it anymore because of the thick glass on it to protect it.

Someone said the shape of the hermitage reminds of the shape of the Holy Grail.

The legend says that there is a stone to discover to move in order to reach a place where the holy grail is still protected.

While these hypotheses are not proven some people believe in them.

If you are going to visit this monument you will eventually get the powers of King Arthur and Jesus Christ.

 

san galgano abbey

San Galgano Abbey

 

Conclusions

If you are in Tuscany and you have a car you don’t want to miss a road trip to the Merse area of Tuscany.

These two monuments are 20km from Siena and definitely nice places to visit.

  • You can go see the real sword in the stone for free and brag to your friends that you’ve seen a real sword in the stone.
  • You can discover the cool roofless abbey of San Galgano, during the sunset hours it gets quite fascinating.

On top of all of this, you will be surrounded by an awesome atmosphere, a nice landscape, good food, and a lot of art.

The Cupola and the shape of the abbey is similar to the architecture used from the Egyptian with a Romanesque touch and a Gothic  French style.

 

If You Liked This Article And You Discovered A New Place Or Just Found Out A New Curiosity And Place That You Should Visit Make A Comment, Tweet This Or Share It. Share on X

 

san galgano top view

 

More Info In Italian:

http://www.sangalgano.info/index.html

http://www.comune.chiusdino.siena.it/Main.aspx?ID=356

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