Abbadia a Isola (Badia di Santa Maria Assunta a Isola)

Below Monteriggioni's walls, on ground once ringed by water, stands an abbey founded in 1001 that sheltered pilgrims walking to Rome. Its travertine Romanesque church still carries a 1476 altarpiece by Sano di Pietro, and the old monastery now holds the area's archaeological museum.

Why it matters

Abbadia a Isola stands at the foot of Monte Maggio, on the historic Via Francigena route to Rome. Countess Ava dei Lambardi founded the abbey in 1001 beside the Via Francigena. Water once surrounded the site, giving it the name Isola, meaning island. For centuries the abbey offered lodging and care to travellers bound for Rome, linking it to the region's pilgrimage history. Its church, rebuilt in the mid-twelfth century over an earlier one, is a compact essay in Sienese Romanesque: three naves, three apses and a travertine facade that has aged into warm grey. The former monastery houses the area's archaeological museum.

What to notice

• The travertine facade of the church, with its Romanesque lines.
• The three-naved interior and its three apses.
• The presbytery's altarpiece, painted in 1476 by Sano di Pietro, one of the leading Sienese masters of the fifteenth century.
• The crypt below the presbytery and the monastery quarters, now occupied by museum rooms.

Context and history

The abbey's rise was fast and its decline long. Founded in 1001 by Ava of the Lambardi family, the monastery grew wealthy and politically significant as the Via Francigena carried pilgrims and merchants between northern Europe and Rome. Its influence continued into the mid-thirteenth century. Then the fortress of Monteriggioni, Siena's new stronghold, shifted the area's centre of gravity up the hill, and the monastery's fortunes ebbed. In 1446 it was aggregated to the monastery of Sant'Eugenio near Siena, ending its independence. The complex is known as Badia di Santa Maria Assunta a Isola, while its church is also called Santi Salvatore e Cirino. Restoration since the late twentieth century has returned the church to liturgical use.