43.00° N · 11.47° E · Val d'Orcia
The Benedictine abbey of Castelnuovo dell'Abate, in the municipality of Montalcino, is open every day. As well as the church, the La Via della Luce tour shows, with a video guide, the Carolingian chapel, the crypt, the upper gallery, the monastic pharmacy and the garden, with the nave seen from the galleries.
Part of Val d'OrciaFilm locations
Step by step
If you want to go up to the galleries and see the rooms that have reopened, book by phone or email.
Go in and walk the nave with the video guide, following the route pilgrims took.
Carolingian chapel, crypt, upper gallery, monastic pharmacy and St Benedict's garden. From the galleries you see the light entering between capitals and columns.
There are tables in the shade to rest after the visit, and Hildegard's garden, with the medicinal herbs the saint associated with each ailment.
At 17:30 the community prays vespers in the church, open to all.
Sant'Antimo is worth visiting for the setting as much as for the church: a Benedictine abbey in the countryside, next to the hamlet of Castelnuovo dell'Abate. The free visit to the church is complemented by a video guide that you rent at the entrance.
Tradition attributes the founding of the abbey to Charlemagne, in the 9th century. The Carolingian chapel survives from that time, and is now the sacristy. The church you see was begun in the 12th century: on the steps of the high altar an inscription, the Charta Lapidaria, records the donation by the Ardengheschi family in 1118, which made Sant'Antimo one of the richest monasteries in the region, with parishes, castles and lands.
For centuries it was inhabited by Benedictine monks. Today a community of nuns lives there, the Missionaries of St John the Baptist, a congregation founded in Mexico in 1945, which keeps its daily prayer open to anyone who wants to attend.
For the image: a Romanesque church of pale stone at the bottom of a valley, surrounded by olive trees and cypresses, with no village on top of it and no traffic around. And for the interior, sober and bright, which is better understood in silence.
It suits those travelling for Romanesque art or rural Tuscany, and those looking for a pause between Brunello wineries. It is a short, quiet visit, suitable for families: the video guide, with images and music, helps children follow it, and outside there are tables for eating something. If you are looking for great frescoes or a museum, you won't find them: here the star is the architecture.
The abbey is in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, in the municipality of Montalcino, south of the village. You get there by car along a hill road among vineyards. Without a car it is complicated: public transport in the area is scarce.
From 1 November to 31 March it opens every day from 10:30 to 17:00; on Sundays and holidays, from 11:00, after Mass. From April to September it opens from 10:00 to 18:30, and in October, from 10:00 to 18:00. The abbey warns that hours may change because of liturgical activities, sometimes without notice.
Mass on Sundays and holidays is at 10:00. Lauds are prayed at 8:00 and vespers at 17:30, followed by the rosary. If you want to hear the church alive, plan your visit to finish with vespers.
In spring and autumn the surrounding landscape of vines and olive trees is at its best, and in winter there are the fewest visitors.
The abbey does not publish prices for the video guide or the high-level tour: ask when booking. If you only want to see the church, the free visit is simple and needs no booking.
It is a good visit for a rainy day: almost everything is indoors. Combine it with Montalcino and its fortress, a few kilometres away, or with a winery in the area.
Who it's for
What to bring
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
On winter Sundays and holidays you enter from 11:00, after Mass.
It is in the same municipality: Brunello in the morning, abbey in the afternoon.
At 17:30, the evening prayer gives the church another meaning.
The abbey shop sells olive oil, honey from the monastery's apiary and other products.
Questions
From 1 November to 31 March, every day from 10:30 to 17:00. From April to September, from 10:00 to 18:30, and in October until 18:00.
Yes, on Sundays and holidays at 10:00. During services access changes.
For the church, no. For the La Via della Luce tour, yes.
Yes. The video guide, with images and music, helps them follow the visit.
A community of nuns, the Missionaries of St John the Baptist.
Yes. Lauds are at 8:00 and vespers at 17:30, open to the public.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/tuscany/val-d-orcia/things-to-do/sant-antimo-abbey
