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The abbey of Saint Galgano with the Montesiepi hermitage rise in the valley of the river Merse, between the medieval villages of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena. Both sites are easily reachable from Florence following the motorway Firenze-Siena until the exit named "San Lorenzo a Merse", then following the road signs towards Monticiano, and then towards the abbey. You can also exit the motorway at Siena and then drive on the road SS73 that leads to the ruins of Saint Galgano. This way is less speed but surely more attractive from the point of view of the landscape.
The original nucleus of the Cistercian monastic complex of Saint Galgano is constituted by the hermitage of Montesiepi, built in Roman style as mausoleum of the young hermit Saint Galgano soon after his death, between 1182 and 1185. Its greatest particularity is the so-called Rotunda of Saint Galgano having a very particular plan especially for buildings of the XII century. It encloses, beyond to the tomb of the saint, the famous rock with the sword. Although at a first look it can seem an emulation of the ancient Etruscan tombs of Populonia, Vetulonia and Volterra, this building is inspired to Castel S.Angelo and the Pantheon of Rome. In the following centuries the Rotunda was strongly manumitted, but the perfect restoration of the year 1924 brought it back to the original aspect. The chapel and its dome have been realised alternating rows of white stone and bricks. In accordance with the ever-growing interest in the cult of Saint Galgano many rich nobles wanted to contribute to the embellishment of the Rotunda, so in 1340 the realisation of a Chapel on the north side started. It was then frescoed by the great artist Ambrogio Lorenzetti, which paintings are still today partially visible thanks to a careful restoration work that arrested their degrade.
At the beginning of the XIII century the hermitage became too small to contain the monks and pilgrims so in 1218 the construction of a new imposing Abbey in the plain below began, with the encouragement of the Bishop of Volterra. The community of Saint Galgano began to represent a reference point for all the territory and for the Sienese Republic. The Abbey was built in the classic gothic forms of all the other Cistercian constructions, presenting a Latin cross plan with three aisles, rich of carved capitals and rose-windows, cloister, halls, bell tower.
The richness of Saint Galgano and the good relationships with Siena attracted the incursions of the Florentine armies that, together with other political events such as the introduction of the "commenda", the fact of receiving benefit from a church good without paying taxes, carried to a rapid decadence of the abbey since from the first half of the XV century. In 1550 only five monks lived in the abbey and at the beginning of the XVII century the community was reduced to an old and poor monk. On the 6th of January 1786 the bell tower, with its 36 meters high, collapsed sweeping up great part of the roof of the church. In the 1789 the great Abbey was definitively abandoned becoming an enormous quarry of stones and columns for all the buildings of the zone.
From the beginning of this century many initiatives of restoration and maintenance have been undertaken, so that today the ruins of Saint Galgano which today is completely without roof are one of the most visited medieval churches in Tuscany.

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