Setting out from the church of Pieve a Castello, now deconsecrated, after a few kilometers you come to the borgo (hamlet) of Abbadia Isola. Here you can visit the fine Romanesque Church that once belonged to the abbey that was founded here in 1001, on the edge of a marsh that has now disappeared. Among the woods of the Montagnola, south of the castle of Monteriggioni, don’t miss the small Church of S. Lorenzo a Colle Ciupi, with rare frescoes by the school of Duccio. Not far away stands the former hermitage of S. Leonardo al Lago, with its 13th century church, and remains of 14th-15th century frescoes*. Here too, as the name suggests, the hermits’ retreat was built on the fringes of an ancient lake. A obelisk commemorates the work of draining this lake, thanks to the so-called Grand-Ducal Conduit, both situated not far from the hermitage.

*The hermitage belongs to the state, and is managed by the Superintendency for Architecture and Landscape (Siena and Grosseto districts).

Along the itinerary

Hermitage of S. Leonardo al lago Pyramid and grand duke's canal Colle Ciupi Pieve a castello Abbadia Isola