Monte San Savino: Architecture, Theatre and Pilgrimage

Monte San Savino between architecture and pilgrimage

Monte San Savino is ideal for you if you would like to discover Italian history not only through individual buildings, but also through crafts, theatre and religious traditions. The Santa Maria delle Vertighe sanctuary in the surrounding area is the oldest Marian sanctuary in the Diocese of Arezzo. At the same time, historic buildings and museums shape the town’s cultural side: Il Cassero Museo, Palazzo di Monte, the Logge dei Mercanti and Teatro Verdi offer different ways of exploring the city’s past and present.

Fortress architecture and Savinese ceramics

Il Cassero Museo is located in a fortified complex dating from the 14th century. Four corner towers, a central keep, a moat and a drawbridge define its architectural setting. The museum presents the history of local ceramic production in Monte San Savino. The collection includes local terracotta objects for domestic and agricultural use, late-medieval ceramic forms and products from Savinese workshops that still exist today. Here, you can therefore encounter both earlier forms of everyday use and the region’s continuing craft tradition.

Another historic site is Palazzo di Monte. It was built from 1515 onwards on behalf of Cardinal Antonio Di Monte, based on plans by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. The Palazzo houses the Quadreria Comunale. Its collection was begun in 1680 and preserves portraits of important figures from Monte San Savino as well as members of the ruling Tuscan families. The Logge dei Mercanti have five round-arched arcades and once housed the town’s covered market. They date from the 16th century and are now generally attributed to Nanni di Baccio Bigio.

Church, theatre and traces of earlier cultures

The Chiesa di Sant’Agostino was built in the 14th century and preserves a Gothic portal and a stained-glass window from 1524. Teatro Verdi offers a different emphasis: its origins date back to the 17th century, and in 1777 it became a permanent theatre. Today, it has 230 seats and 37 boxes on three tiers and is regarded as a focal point of the town’s cultural life. Earlier periods are also present, as several traces of Etruscan civilisation have been found in Monte San Savino.

Pilgrimage and historic routes

Santa Maria delle Vertighe remains a place of pilgrimage and prayer, especially for the people of the Valdichiana. The Il Cammino delle Traslazione is associated with the sanctuary. It follows historic pilgrimage routes from Asciano in the heart of the Crete Senesi to the Santuario di Santa Maria delle Vertighe in the Valdichiana. The associated pilgrimage took place every year on 7 July and remained a living tradition until the period after the Second World War. For your travel planning, Monte San Savino can therefore be viewed both culturally and in connection with religious history.

Excursions in the wider region

The historical and landscape setting also continues beyond the immediate town. The ruins of Rocca di Civitella are located in the vicinity of Monte San Savino. Castello di Montecchio Vesponi lies in the wider regional area. The Museo della Civiltà Contadina di Fratticciola is also located there, while the Museo Archeologico is likewise situated in the wider regional area of Monte San Savino. These destinations complement the themes of history, archaeology and rural culture, without being equated with the town’s museums and buildings.

For visitors interested in landscapes, Mount Poggio del Sarto is located nearby, while Mount Monte San Zio, Mount Monte Castiglion Maggio and Mount Monte Corneta lie in the wider regional area of Monte San Savino. Together with the historic pilgrimage routes, religious buildings and museums, they create a destination that can be explored according to your interests in architecture, art, crafts, theatre, archaeology or pilgrimage.

Further destinations: Alberoro, Pieve Vecchia, Pratantico, Ronzano, Lonnano, Papiano, Chiusi Della Verna, Toppole

To the main travel overview: Arezzo.