The legendary sword in the stone truly exists. It is not located in Avalon but rather in the Abbey of San Galgano in Tuscany, in the province of Siena. In the unspoiled nature of the Sienese hills, near the town of Chiusdino, the medieval knight Galgano Guidotti erected a chapel in 1180 where he spent the last years of his life as a hermit. Five years later, Galgano was sanctified, and some decades afterward, starting from 1224, the Cistercian monks built a much larger church in his honor, drawing inspiration from French Gothic churches.
The Abbey
The structure, which set the standard for Gothic architecture across Tuscany, sadly began to deteriorate as early as the 16th century. Even the restoration efforts undertaken at the end of the 1500s proved insufficient to halt the decay, which, by the 1700s, resulted in the collapse of the bell tower, vaults, and roof. Yet, perhaps it’s precisely this almost ethereal quality that now draws visitors to the Abbey of San Galgano, making it a sought-after tourist destination with 4,7 stars out of almost 18,000 Google reviews.
To truly grasp its original splendor, attention must be paid to the flanks, where the walls, adorned with remnants of decoration, are pierced by single and double pointed arch windows, allowing light to filter through. The interior is breathtaking: the floor is carpeted with lush green grass during summer, the space vast, divided into three naves (the side ones still boasting their ceilings, while the central one gleams devoid of the collapsed Gothic vaults).
The Sword in the Stone
Near the Abbey of San Galgano, you can marvel at the Hermitage of Montesiepi, where San Galgano lived as a hermit. It is within this very hermitage that the sword in the stone rests. The sword once belonged to Galgano Guidotti himself, a courageous yet dissolute knight who, moved by the word of God, chose to retire as a hermit near his hometown. Legend has it that he plunged the sword into the rock to repurpose it as a cross for his prayers. Could this be the authentic Excalibur?
Throughout the years, countless individuals have attempted in vain to extract the sword. As testament to these failed endeavors, within the hermitage lie what are believed to be the mummified hands of a thief, torn asunder by wolves during an ill-fated attempt to remove the sword. While the sword in the stone was long dismissed as a fabrication, recent studies have revealed that its material, style, and craftsmanship date back to a period spanning from the 1100s to the early 1200s. Today, a protective case shields the sword from further extraction attempts.
The hermitage housing the sword remains a consecrated church, welcoming visitors daily. You can find more information about the hermitage and the Abbey of San Galgano here.
Curiosities about the Abbey of San Galgano
The captivating setting of the Abbey has served as the backdrop for numerous films and music videos by Italian artists. Notable among these films are Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Nostalghia” from 1983, Anthony Minghella’s “The English Patient” from 1996, and Roger Vadim’s “Love on a Pillow” from 1962.
The lack of a roof ties the Abbey of San Galgano to many other structures, both in Italy and around the world. In Italy, similar examples include the Valle Christi monastery in Rapallo, the Church of Santa Maria dello Spasimo in Palermo, the Abbey of Goleto in Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi, the Church of San Nicola in Capo di Bove in Rome, and the Church of San Pantaleo in Martis. Meanwhile, around the world, comparable abbeys can be found in Melrose, Kelso, and Jedburgh in Scotland, Tintern in Wales, Cashel in Ireland, Oybin in Saxony, Jumièges in Normandy, and in Lisbon.
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