San Vivaldo or the Jerusalem of Tuscany

The holy mountain of San Vivaldo is also called the Jerusalem of Tuscany. Coming from  Montaione towards Iano you come to San Vivaldo. the small Jerusalem between Montaione and San Miniato with 25 chapels

The chapels are scattered in the middle of the forest, not randomly but modeled on Jerusalem. The atmosphere is unique, with every step you feel the history, mysticism and tranquility that this place radiates. The holy mountain of San Vivaldo is also called the Jerusalem of Tuscany. Coming from  Montaione towards Iano you come to San Vivaldo. the small Jerusalem between Montaione and San Miniato with 25 chapels

The origin of the monastery dates back to the years 1185-1280 when the area in Possessed by the Friars of the Cross of Normandy, Castelfiorentino and San Miniato fought over this region.

When the Franciscans came to the church of Camporena, this place was already known by Vivaldo strokes. The hermit monk became well known after his death and propagated as a saint

In 1325 a chapel was built in his honor at the place where he died, then a romitorium and in 1355 the church that still stands today.

On May 1st, 1500, after Franciscan monks settled here, the small churches and chapels were built to represent the topography and holy places of Jerusalem At this time, Franciscans often made pilgrimages to Jerusalem In the first place it was Brother Tommaso from Florence and Brother Cherubino Conti who first built the monastery and then the 25 chapels, the villagers helping to collect the stones from the river Egal. It should enable the inhabitants to experience a pilgrimage without having to make the long, costly and dangerous journey to Jerusalem.

Pope Leone X (of the Medici family) recognized the chapels and bestowed indulgence on those praying there.

In 16 years 25 chapels were built, some collapsed over the centuries and others were added. The chapels have been maintained by private families for centuries. Each chapel has a name and tells a story with reliefs and frescoes, in front of each chapel is the name of the respective chapel and Bible students can then derive the story.

Who was Vivaldo Strichi

Vivaldo Striche was born in San Gimignano, Tuscany, in 1260 to a wealthy family. In 1285 he and 11 friends bought the Palazzo della Consuma, where they celebrated lavish parties and squandered the money so quickly. Some of the friends went insane, others died in the war, and others found jobs. Vivaldo met the priest Bartolo from Picchiena and stayed with him to live a Christian life until Bartolo’s death in 1300. He decided to go to the Santa Maria ‘Hospital’. At that time, a hospital was a church that had rooms where hikers and pilgrims could spend the night.

A place in the middle of the forest between San Gimignano and Montaione. At first he slept in a small hut next to the church, surrounded by centuries-old chestnut trees. He later built a cell in and under the trunk of one of the large chestnut trees.

Vivaldo lived a life of poverty, loneliness and fasting until his death on May 1st, 1320. The inhabitants of Montaione found the saint the next day and immediately took him to the village where he was buried under the altar in the church; he is the patron saint of Montaione.