Photo: Sailko · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Abbazia di San Salvatore a Soffena

Ancient Vallombrosan abbey near Castelfranco di Sopra, a state monument open to visitors, with Late Gothic and Renaissance frescoes.

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About the museum

The church is first recorded in 1076 and stands on the foundations of a 9th–10th-century building, linked to a castle of the Ubertini of Arezzo, traces of which remain in the base of the bell tower. With the bull of Urban II of 1090 it passed to the Vallombrosan congregation and became a dependent priory; between the 13th and 14th centuries it was rebuilt in a position rotated with respect to the earlier building.

The layout follows the Vallombrosan Latin-cross plan with a tiburio (crossing tower), transverse terracotta arches typical of 13th-century architecture, and a tower-type bell tower with twin-light openings in the belfry. At the beginning of the 18th century the walls were whitewashed and replaced by altars and Baroque stucco; after the Leopoldine suppressions of 1779 the building was sold to private owners and fell into disuse.

In 1960 the State bought it back, and the restorations brought the frescoes to light. Today the former abbey is a monument open to visitors, with the Life of Saint John Gualbert by Neri di Bicci, a Madonna and Child by Paolo Schiavo, an Annunciation by Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, known as lo Scheggia, and the Massacre of the Innocents by Liberato da Rieti.

Highlights

Fresco cycle with the Life of Saint John Gualbert
Annunciation by lo Scheggia
Madonna and Child by Paolo Schiavo
Massacre of the Innocents by Liberato da Rieti
Vallombrosan architecture with a bell tower with twin-light openings

Permanent exhibition

Affreschi dell'abbazia – Cycles of Late Gothic and Renaissance frescoes, with works by Neri di Bicci, Paolo Schiavo, lo Scheggia and Liberato da Rieti.

Operated by: Ministero della Cultura
Visitors per year: approx. 1,531