The Great Sienese Abbeys

Mount Uliveto Maggiore

The Benedictine abbey of Monte Uliveto Maggiore is located between Buonconvento and Asciano in the center of the area known as the Crete Senesi (html file).

The abbey, which has a decidely monumental aspect and considerable dimensions, is immersed among greenery that gives it a profound sense of peace.

The abbey was built in the 1300s by three Sienese men who abandoned their activities and their professions to embrace the hard rule of the Benedictine order (Ordine degli Olivetani) and to dedicate themselves to contemplation and humanistic studies.

These same activities are practiced there today along with the conservation and care of the abbey's precious library.

A visit to the abbey follows the rigid monastic rules.

Inside the abbey are admirable frescos by Luca Signorelli with the "History of Saint Benedict" and of Sodom