Driving along the road linking Siena to Massa Marittima and approaching to Chiusdino, you will glimpse the ruins of a huge abbey between the leafy branches of trees. The curiosity of discovering more about it will certainly make you deviate from the route. After a few kilometers, a magnificent Cistercian church will stand out and it’s surprising to notice that it’s almost intact even though it’s been built between 1220 and 1268. Just the roof is missing, as it’s been taken off in the 18th century after some collapses. This cathedral is part of the San Galgano abbey complex together with the small chapel on the top of the near hill and it’s dedicated to one of the most symbolic men of Middle Ages.
Galgano was a young and rich man who lived in the 13th century and who was known for having a violent attitude. However, he was encouraged to change his life after the vision hehad about the Archangel Michael. That’s why he became a Knight of God, he became a hermit and he started to be venerated like a saint by the local population. He died in 1182 and a splendid circular church was built after a couple of years on the hill he is thought to have died. An extraordinary medieval object is conserved there, in the “Rotonda di Montesiepi”: the real Sword in the Stone.
Protected by a plexiglass covering under the floor right in the center of the cupola there is an iron sword stuck in the fissure of a stone and some recent studies have confirmed its medieval origin. The legend tells that it was plunged there by San Galgano himself in the moment he quitted using violence to follow the road leading to God.
But why is the Sword in the Stone in Tuscany and what connection does it have with the famous Legend of King Arthur and the Round Table Knights?
It’s maybe thanks to the Via Francigena, which is one of the most important european medieval pilgrinage routes (and which is also the topic of one of our articles of some weeks ago!) that the myth of the Sword in the Stone has been known by pilgrims and travels and it’s been exported to France to be inserted in the Arthurian literary cycle. The echoes of this story also reached England, where it became a cue of the Breton literature. This hypothesis is confirmed by the evidence about the name of one of the Round Table Knights, called Sir Gawaineor Walganus, Balbhuaidh, Gwalchmai, Galvanus..or Galganus! The Cistercian monks who built the abbey were also known for spreading the Arthurian legend over Europe.
In a few years we’re maybe going to discover that even the Castle of Camelot and the places of Avalon are hidden in some spot of the Tuscan region.
Meanwhile, there’s nothing we can do except for admiring this architectural masterpieces: book one of our properties near Chiusdino, like Villa Vittorio and fall in love with the beauty of this area!
