Montalcino - Abbazia di Sant'Antimo

It is proven, that the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo existed since Carolingian times. Legends (of course) know, that it was Charlemagne himself, who founded the abbey when he had left Rome, following the Via Francigana northward. The earliest document relating to the abbey is a land grant of Charlemagne´s son Louis the Pious from 813.

One year after the 1117 Verona earthquake, that destroyed so many buildings in Northern Italy, the erection of the church of today started. At that time the a powerful abbey was one of the largest landowners in the area.

The decline started in 1212, when, after a decade of hostility, an agreement stated that the abbey had to hand over a quarter of its territories to Siena, including Montalcino.

With the rise of the Dominican and the Franciscan Order, the Benedictines lost more influence. In 1462 Pope Pius II surpressed the abbey (just like Abbadia Ardenga, see previous uploads), annexed what ever was left - and handed it over to the Bishop of of Montalcino-Pienza, who was Pius' nephew.

The decline had already started, when the facade was done around 1250. It was never completed, as the abbey obviously run out of funds. The work for a double portal were pretty advanced already, when the work came to an halt. The missing half of this now forms the portal of Santa Maria Assunta in San Quirico d’Orcia (15kms northeast).