SHARRYLAND
Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore
A fortress of spirituality and art
Where is
What it is and where it is
For many it is a fortress, because as soon as you arrive you are greeted by a... drawbridge! But so it was, in fact, and we are not just talking about a fortress of faith. The works of art, the possessions preserved in the Abbey and accumulated over the centuries make it a precious treasure chest that climbs the craggy hill and almost seems to take flight. Named Mount Olivet by its founder, St. Bernard Tolomei, it recalls the Garden of Gethsemane and the Passion of Christ, the basis of the faith of this new order, indeed this suborder of the Benedictines, called precisely the Olivetan Order.
Why it is special
We are out of this world, and it is easy to see why Bernard, born John, and friends of his had come here from Siena to seek some peace and a chance to pray and meditate outside the circus of daily life. But soon other disciples arrived: in 1319 the cenoby was born, and within a few years it spread throughout Italy, bringing in donations and works of art as well. Its frescoed cloister and inlaid wooden choir are two jewels of the Italian Renaissance, undoubtedly.
Not to be missed
The choir made in wooden inlay by Friar Giovanni da Verona and brings to Siena all the novelties of Mantegna's Venetian art and painting, with an almost unparalleled attention to perspective, and a unique mastery of creating pictorial effects without ever using a brush. Although this choir was not intended for Monte Oliveto, but for another monastery. The one originally intended for this church is now...well, we can't reveal everything.
A bit of history
At first a small oratory, by the 15th century it was a large and richly decorated church. Along with the church grew the monastery, and at the end of the 15th century it was decided to decorate the Great Cloister with scenes from the life of St. Benedict, the founder of the Order Maior: first Luca Signorelli, from Cortona, then Antonio Bazzi known as the Sodoma, from Vercelli, created a masterpiece that is a historical synthesis between the Renaissance and the beginning of the Modern Manner.
Trivia
Why were two artists who painted the cloister? Signorelli painted only one wall; it was precisely Sodoma who finished the work. When Luca accepted the commission, he was waiting for confirmation of a more prestigious commission, the chapel of San Brizio at the Duomo. Not yet certain about the future, he asked the friars to be paid by scenes, not months, and chose the wall where he knew he would work fastest. So when the confirmation of the other commission came, he could easily disengage from the friars after painting six scenes and making the wait fruitful. A really smart move!
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