Herculeus.
A Shell of its Former Self
"The abbey formed around the site of the former hermitage of Galgano Guidotti (San Galgano), and construction of the church began around 1220, and was completed some six decades later. The abbey grew in wealth and became allied with the Republic of Siena. Monks from the abbey routinely served as Camarlinghi di Biccherna.[1]
However within a century, the republic failed to protect it from roving condottieri, and John Hawkwood and his men despoiled the monastery beginning in 1363. By the end of the 14th-century, only the abbot remained in the monastery.[2]
The impoverished and decaying abbey sputtered along for nearly four centuries. In 1786, the campanile fell, taking with it the roof of the church. The ruins were looted for building material. Some restorations occurred in the 19th and 20th; but the church remains only a magnificent shell among the wooded valley. The long tall nave with flechet windows and an apse rose window still stand. The abbey's chapter house and part of the scriptorium also remain."
Wikipedia 6/23/18
A Shell of its Former Self
"The abbey formed around the site of the former hermitage of Galgano Guidotti (San Galgano), and construction of the church began around 1220, and was completed some six decades later. The abbey grew in wealth and became allied with the Republic of Siena. Monks from the abbey routinely served as Camarlinghi di Biccherna.[1]
However within a century, the republic failed to protect it from roving condottieri, and John Hawkwood and his men despoiled the monastery beginning in 1363. By the end of the 14th-century, only the abbot remained in the monastery.[2]
The impoverished and decaying abbey sputtered along for nearly four centuries. In 1786, the campanile fell, taking with it the roof of the church. The ruins were looted for building material. Some restorations occurred in the 19th and 20th; but the church remains only a magnificent shell among the wooded valley. The long tall nave with flechet windows and an apse rose window still stand. The abbey's chapter house and part of the scriptorium also remain."
Wikipedia 6/23/18