Tuscany September 2020 Abbazia di MonteOliveto and Asciano

After several busy days we take it easy on Wednesday morning, some shopping, a little work, some catching up, an early lunch and a quick nap. Eventually in the car we head to Asciano because it's on the way to Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore which is our real destination for the afternoon. On the way we are tempted by a signpost to the impossibly named San Gimignanello. What a superb place, a tenuta or a hamlet, difficult to know what to call it, but absolutely splendid.

There isn't really a lot to see in Asciano, the museum is closed, perhaps because it's lunchtime but I hadn't checked because I knew we hadn't time to see that as well. There are a couple of streets of older houses, a nice square with an elaborate fountain, 

and the most interesting church which is the 11th century Romanesque basilica of Sant'Agata, built of travertine. 

The church houses a fine 16th-century fresco of Madonna in trono col Bambino tra gli arcangeli Raffaele e Michele probably by Il Sodoma and a painting depicting Madonna in trono tra i santi Barnardino da Siena e Agata, by Francesco Vanni dating back to 1600.

Ours is a short visit, it's still very hot and we are soon back in the car driving along a quite narrow and twisting road up and down along a sort of ridge of the hills with absolutely spectacular views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside, just like in the photos you see of Tuscan countryside, but in a pastel end of summer version of ploughed fields ranging from beige to cream of the grey clayey and sandy soil— the occasional cypress. 

We park just off the main road from where it's just a short walk up to the entrance to the Abbey which, surprisingly, is slightly downhill not at the top of a hill. As a result my first impressions of the large red-brick buildings are somewhat distracted due to the vicious assault of blood-thirsty mosquitoes probably short of the usual coach loads of tourists. It's all not quite what I expected, not just the mosquitoes, more grand than spiritual.

Access is free to the public into the church and the cloister where there's a splendid series of frescoes by Luca Signorelli (mostly on the west wall), completed by Il Sodoma in 1505, showing scenes from the life of San Benedetto.

Monte Oliveto Maggiore is the mother-house of the Olivetans and was founded in 1320. The reason for our visit here is more personal than touristic since the son of a cousin is a monk here and part of the family are staying for a fortnight to help with the grape harvest. The monks produce wine, olive oil and herb based creams etc. The visit also allows a glimpse of the magnificent refectory, still in use today, as well as of the library. 

We later discover there was also a museum which we didn't have time to see since the rest of the afternoon is spent with Andrea's relatives and talk is of grapes, the heat, the mosquitoes, the wine followed by a visit to the wine cellar. It's a nice place but it doesn't have the same spiritual impact as other hermitages or monasteries in the area.

The drive back to Sinalunga is slow, we are distracted by the sun setting over the hills and cypresses, the colours, the landscape, and for me as the driver, the lack of suitable places to stop the car and admire them. The atmosphere is of quiet sleepy calm, a hot September evening in the Crete Senesi.