Discover Chianti

They say that around the end of the 4th century, Saint Zanobi founded a monastery at Passignano, yet it is only at the end of the 9th century that the presence of a community of monks, founded by Brothers Sichelmo and Zenobio, is documented. The site was very important in Lombard times, because of its position along a road known as “via del Guardingo, watchtower, di Passignano”, that joined the Greve valley to
Poggibonsi, passing by Montefioralle and Sillano, Passignano and Sambuca. Passignano was fortified in the High Middle Ages by a wall within two gates and a moat. In 1049, the buildings were donated to John Gualbert, who transformed it into a Vallombrosian abbey, under the Abbot Leto, a member of the Guidi Counts. Much of the structure was rebuilt and adapted to the order’s rule. All that is left of the Romanesque church is the facade built in rows of rectangular blocks of alberese stone and the crypt, divided into three naves with columns topped by simple geometric capitals. The entrance is surmounted by a Gothic lunette, frescoed in the 19th century by Filadelfo Simi, in neo-Renaissance style. The facade is crowned by a copy of the sculpture of Saint Michael Archaeangel, whose original now stands in the monastery. It is a beautiful example of Romanesque sculpture: the figure’s forward facing stance and the shape of the decorated tunic indicate a strong Byzantine influence, probably dating the sculpture to the 12th century. It is thought to be the work of Arriguccio, a sculptor whose presence in Passignano was documented in 1177. The interior of the monastery was radically altered in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1549 the lay Vallombrosian Brother Michele Confetto, assisted by an artisan from Lucolena, carved the new wooden choir and the screen which separates it from the church: on its exterior are two paintings by Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, a Nativity and a panel which shows the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. The walls of the
nave were frescoed in the first years of the 18th century with the figures of the Apostles, by Giuseppe Nasini, who also painted the panels of the two side-altars. The stuccoes are by Domenico Rusconi. The neo-Renaissance baptismal font, on the right,was designed by the architect Castellucci. Entering the choir, the 15th century stalls are lined along the walls, bearing Greek and Hebrew inscriptions, a sign of the Vallombrosians interest in eastern languages. Following the canonization of Saint John Gualbert in 1193, the transept was enlarged and the central chapel and the two side-chapels, with cross vault ceilings, were rebuilt. The translation of the remains of the Saint, who died in Passignano in 1073 and was buried in the crypt, only took place in 1210 because of the strong opposition of the Bishops of Florence and Fiesole. To the right of the High Altar is the Chapel of Saint Atto, a Vallombrosian saint. It was decorated in 1609, with scenes from the life of the Saint, by Benedetto Velio. The central chapel was renovated between 1597 and 1601 by the painter and architect Domenico Cresti, known as Il Passignano, born near the abbey. Cresti also frescoed the lunettes and painted the canvases on the walls.The gesso sculptures, dated 1602, of Saints Peter and Paul are by Andrea di Michelangelo Ferrucci. A niche behind the Madonna with Saints by Passignano, above the High Altar, houses a fine late 15th century Crucifix, attributed to the workshop of the Da Maiano, or of the Dal Tasso. The frescoes of the dome were painted in the early 15th century by Giuseppe Nasini; the marble altar with the scagliola frontal dates to the Middle of the same century. To the left is the Chapel of Saint John Gualbert, who lies buried under the tombstone in the floor. In 1580, Alessandro Allori, a painter in the court of Francesco I de’ Medici, was commissioned to renew the whole left transept: with his pupils, he depicted the Translation of the Saint’s Mortal Remains, in which he included the portraits of the Grand Duke and his second wife Bianca Cappello. Allori also frescoed the Saint’s chapel and painted a Pietà for the altar, now in the Uffizi Gallery. At the beginning of the 18th century it was replaced by Vincenzo Meucci’s Canonisatlon of the Saint. On the altar is a statue of Saint John Gualbert by Giovanni Caccini, a court sculptor of the Medici at the end of the 16th century.The artist probably readapted a preexisting sculpture sketched by Benedetto da Rovezzano, intended for the monumental tomb of the Saint, which was commissioned in 1505 by Abbot Biagio Milanesi for the Vallombrosian Church of Santa Trinita in Florence. The two corbels with putti were also intended to decorate the tomb in Santa Trinita, which was never completed due to the opposition of the Medici Pope Leo X.
The sacristy, rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century, contains a large pietra serena tabernacle with door panels painted by the Vallombrosian monk Filippo di Antonio Filippelli, showing scenes from the life of the Saint. In it is the reliquary of Saint John Gualbert, a magnificent work, evidently made by more than one goldsmith: the enamel base can be dated to 1324-1334; the Saint’s head to the mid 15th century, while the halo was added in the early 16th century by Paolo di Giovanni Sogliani.

The Monastery
The structure of the monastery dates back the 11th century, but was enlarged in the 13th century by Ruggero Buondelmonti, a Ghibelline nobleman, Abbot of Passignano from 1266. Buondelmonti also repaired the buildings which had been damaged in 1255 by the attacks of the Scolari, a noble family of the Val di Pesa, ultimately transforming the abbey into a fortress. The defensive structures were renewed by the Abbot Francesco Altoviti, who built the walls that partly surround the abbey and the novitiate to this day. From the doorway on the side of the church we reach the Italian garden, formed by geometric beds of boxwood, arranged around an octagonal pool and decorated with neo-Classical statues and busts. The present appearance is largely the result of the renovation ordered by the Counts Dzieduszycka after the monastery’s suppression in 1870. It was transformed into a villa by the engineer Uguccioni, who also created the neo-Gothic facade on the side of the cloister, flanked by two towers. The cloister is reached through a beautiful pietra serena doorway, sculpted by master mason from Settignano in the 15th century, and still boasts its original doors. The peaceful Renaissance cloister was commissioned in 1472 by the Abbot lsidoro del Sera to Jacopo di Stefano Rosselli. Here is the entrance to the Refectory, with its 15th century pulpit and neo-Medieval furnishings. On the wall at the far end of the room is the large fresco of the The Last Supper by Domenico and Davide Ghirlandaio, dated 1476-1477. Above it are two lunettes by Bernardo di Stefano Rosselli. On the walls hang two detached frescoes by Filippo di Antonio Filippelli, who was commissioned between 1485 and 1486 to paint the chapter and the upper storey of the portico with scenes from the life of Saint Benedict. The old monastery’s kitchens are also worth a visit: a 17th century fireplace has benches placed under the large chimney, which form a corner seat by the fire. On the walls hang ancient kitchen wares and in the middle of the room there is a 17th century table, made from a single slab of solid stone.

The Church of San Biagio
Outside the monastic complex is the Church of San Biagio, where the faithful, who were denied access to the monastery, could worship. The original building was erected in 1080 byorder of Abbot Leto, and was dedicated to San Biagio, Saint Blaise, taking on the name of the church in the nearby Castle of Materaia. The church was rebuilt in its present form by Abbot Nicola Gianfigliazzi between 1335 and 1340. Inside, the cycle of frescoes, dated 1460, are greatly damaged but can be attributed to the painter Filippo di Antonio Filippelli.

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