South of Montaione, surrounded by forests, is the 16th century Franciscan monastery of San Vivaldo.
In approximately 1300 Vivaldo Stricchi from San Gimignano withdrew to these forests where he lived as a hermit until his death. The legend told that his corpse could be found in the cavity of an enormous chestnut tree that the faithful slowly destroyed since everyone wanted a piece of tree to carry as a relic. Later, in the place of the tree, an oratory was built dedicated to Saint Vivaldo that has undergone some changes until becoming the church of today.
During the Middle Ages pilgrimages to Saint Vivaldo assumed exceptional dimensions. People wanted to see the places in which Christ had preached, had been crucified and where he was resurected, but travel was difficult and dangerous in much of Palestine since it was controlled by the Turks. Plans were made to transfer these places of pilgrimage to the West reconstructing the sacred places of Palestine: the " Sacred Mount of Saint Vivaldo " is one of these places.
There remain 17 of 33 chapels of diverse styles dating from the 16th century, each with painted terracotta tiles inside illustrating an episode from the life of Jesus. The complex was constructed around 1500 thanks to the work of the Franciscan friars and the people of the Val d’Elsa, under the direction of father Tommaso.
Sacro Monte with map of the chapels.
# 1. La chiesa
# A. Sacrestia
# B. Chiostro grande
# C. Lavatoio
# 2. Museo del Sacro Monte
# 3. Cenacolo
# 4. Casa di Anna
# 5. Cappella dell'Annunciazione
# 6. Cappella della Fuga in Egitto
# 7. Casa di Simone Fariseo
# 8. Casa di Pilato
# 9. Casa di Erode
# 10. Cappella dell'Andata al Calvario
# 11. Chiesa dello Spasimo
# 12. Cappella delle Pie Donne
# 13. Casa della Veronica
# 14. Cappella del Calvario
# 15. Edicola del Santo Sepolcro
# 16. Cappella del Noli Me Tangere
# 17. Cappella del Carcere di Cristo
# 18. Cappella di San Giacomo
# 19. Casa di Caifa
# 20. Valle di Giosafat
# 21. Cappella dell'Ascensione
Sacred Mount of San Vivaldo
50050 Montaione (FI)
Tuscany / Val d’Elsa
Italy
Every day the permanent extension of the former barn of the convent, opens from the 10am to 7pm.
For more information about the Holy Mount of San Vivaldo, we suggest to visit http://www.sanvivaldointoscana.com and for further information where to stay in the surrounding you can visit http://www.visitmontaione.com