estate | the abbey | tuscany | activities
The Abbey rose on the will of Willa, widow of the count Pepone I of Sarteano; she gave the land and the wood of Spineto, the hill of Moaine and the near lands as a present to Rodolfo of the Abbey San Salvatore on Mount Amiata. Her intent was to assure a continuous and regular practise of religious rites which secular priests could not perform prior.
Monk Rodolfo acted immediately to build the Abbey and organize the religious life of the monks. That was the age of monachesimo: monestaries and abbeys flourished in every region of the peninsula; in the central Middle Ages, beside the feudal lords, rose religious faith doms dependent on abbotts.
Around the abbeys agriculture flourished, handicraft increased, texture and tincture were experimented...so it was realized, in the golden age of Monachesimo, a model of wise government both spiritual and civil.
Life inside the borders of the Abbey of Spineto was quiet and peaceful, devoted to religious works, scriptorium activities and agriculture; outside feudal powers fought bloody struggles which could not help but touch the Abbey as well.
At different times, the Abbey found itself under the protection of Orvieto, the Republic of Siena and the Ducato of Florence. It has been a hospital and finally in 1627 was entrusted to the Cistercian Order by Pope Urbano VIII.
The present owners bought the Abbey in 1989 and began a long period of restoration over fourteen years resulting in the complete recovery of the monastic building and twelve villas belonging to the property. One thousand years after its birth, the Abbey's new life seems the ideal continuation of the past, an evolution of the landmark that the Abbey already represented for the territory.
The owners have dedicated the Abbey to meetings for study and work, opening it exclusively for their guests; they are realizing day after day a project of innovative reuse of spaces once dedicated to study, culture and agriculture.
The ancient walls have been restored, the spaces have been reinvented for contemporary demands but the best care has been dedicated to retain the soul of this place.
