Let's visit the stunning Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore! | 参观古老的橄榄山大修道院

In my previous posts, I showed you a rural hotel converted from a former monastery in Tuscany. That was quite small when compared to the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore in the same region.

This sprawling Benedictine monastery is about an hour's drive southeast of Siena. It's the Olivetans' mother-house, hence the name Maggiore ("the greater"), to distinguish it from subsequent ones in other places like Florence, Naples, and San Gimignano.

The Olivetans are a Benedictine order known as the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet (Mount of Olives). They were founded in 1313 by Bernardo Tolomei, a nobleman and jurist from Siena. It was approved by the Bishop about 7 years later, and construction on the abbey began.

Despite being located in the popular Tuscany region, I didn't see many visitors to this site on that day. We had a private tour of the abbey guided by one of the senior friars. He had lived there for many years and was very knowledgeable about the place and its history. Following him through the whole building, I was impressed by the amazing interior, exterior and the rich artworks.

There are numerous frescoes depicting religious scenes such as St. Benedict's Life and Madonna with Child and Saints. Many of them were created by masters of the Italian Renaissance.

Other more mundane aspects of the monks' lives, such as the old pharmacy, botanical garden, library, and dining room, were also fascinating to see. The pharmacy houses a collection of medical herbs in 17th-century vases, and the library has over 40000 old books printed before the 16th century.

Now I'd like to take you on a photo tour of this magnificent abbey. It was an overcast day, and the inside was fairly dark, making it challenging to take pictures while moving with the group. As you can see, I photographed the staircase when ascending earlier, and later again when descending, as the structures looked simply stunning in that light. I hope you will enjoy the tour and pay it a visit the next time you're in Tuscany! :)

前些天提到托斯卡纳由小修道院改建而成的乡间住处，今天我们再来看看同一地区的奥利维托山（橄榄山）大修道院。

14世纪初，锡耶纳当地的贵族法学家伯纳多•托洛梅创立了这个本笃会教派，后被主教批准为橄榄山教派，修道院也开始筹建。

虽然地处有名的托斯卡纳地区，这个僻静的地方却不像有些景点那样游人如织。我们跟着大修道院一位年长的修士，一路听他讲解，参观了整个建筑。穿行在这古朴沉寂的修道院，时光也仿佛慢下来。

内部有很多意大利文艺复兴大师创作的壁画，生动地描绘着宗教场景，比如圣本笃的经历、圣母和耶稣等。还看到修士们平常生活的地方，那些古老的药房、图书馆和餐厅依然如故。药房里存有众多草药，装在17世纪的古董容器里，图书馆藏有大约4万册16世纪以前印刷的旧书。

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图文 by Donica，谢谢来访！=)}

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