Monte Oliveto Maggiore

In 1310 Henry VII, Emperor of Luxembourg, crossed the Alps on his way to his coronation in Rome. Something went drastically wrong and he spent three years besieging the Guelf cities of Tuscany. The wave of bloodshed and vendetta that followed his death in 1313 so sickened a Sienese Noble, Bernando Tolomei, that he withdrew to the most God-forsaken of his family holdings, with Patrizio de'Patrizi and Ambrogio de'Piccolomini. There he founded Monte Oliveto Maggiore and lived apart from the world with a band of fellow monks until the Great Plague of 1348, when they returned to Siena to help the sick: They all died.
San Benedetto, by Sodoma The monastery survived, however, and went on to become one of the most important in central Italy, contributing significantly to the Church in the 15th and 16th centuries. It also became quite wealthy, something that would have likely distressed Bernardo, but which allowed the monks to attract two of the great masters, Luca Signorelli and Sodoma, whom they commissioned to paint the life of Saint Benedict in the Great Cloister. Sodoma's work, in particular, is hauntingly beautiful, and well worth a detour. The cycle begins with Benedict leaving his home to study in Rome, and proceeds clockwise, with the saint performing miracles, resisting temptations, and finally founding and running his monastery. The most interesting panels are perhaps those in which he deals with rebel monks, who either try to poison him, or try to smuggle naughty women into their chambers. Sodoma once remarked that he had sweated seven shirts in doing the frescoes (i.e. he'd worked very hard), and in the last, Benedict releasing a bound farmer with his gaze, painted a shirt hung out to dry in the window of the building to the right.

Naughty Women, by Sodoma Sodoma and Signorelli were not alone: Fra' Giovanni Da Verona, the monk who did the inlays of the choir stalls, was an inspired artisan, and the panels show everything from a view of the ruins of the Coliseum to lutes, complete with strings, that look like they could be picked up and played. Finally, don't miss the library, with its beautiful illuminated manuscripts.

To reach Monte Oliveto Maggiore, take the Cassia (S.S.2) south from Siena to Buonconvento (about 25 km), and turn left onto the road for Asciano. Park outside the gate and follow the cypress-lined lane that leads down to the monastery. After you have seen Monte Oliveto, Murlo's Etruscan Museum (a half hour's drive) provides a wonderful change of pace.