A unique place, encompassing a singular synthesis of history, art, spirituality and nature. The ‘Jerusalem’ of San Vivaldo, built at the beginning of the 16th century by the Friars Minor of St Francis, is one of the most significant examples of the reproduction of the places of the Holy Land in the West, for the purpose of substitute pilgrimage.

For long centuries, the medieval tradition of pilgrimage to Jerusalem was precluded by the fall of Palestine into Arab and then Ottoman hands. For this reason, the Franciscans, already custodians of the Holy Sepulchre, established a convent here, built a citadel of chapels and small temples in the woods: so that people from near and far could flock there and symbolically make their pilgrimage.

The uniqueness of the Holy Mount of  San Vivaldo compared to similar Italian and European complexes is due to its topographical layout: the buildings are in fact arranged in the wood in an order that reproduces to scale the plan of Jerusalem at the time, albeit differently oriented, with an exactness that is not found elsewhere.

An expression of “poor” architecture, but supported by exquisitely classical elements, the chapels are home to original polychrome sculptural groups in terracotta modelled with cold paint, inspired by episodes from the Passion and life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The work of great Florentine sculptors such as Giovanni Della Robbia, Agnolo di Polo and Benedetto Buglioni, and brilliantly complemented by perspective frescoes, the sculptural corpus of the Jerusalem of San Vivaldo constitutes one of the most interesting moments in the history of 16th-century Tuscan terracotta.

The dozens of motionless inhabitants that populate the chapels, with their hollow faces, pronounced mimicry and polychrome robes, were intended to translate the Gospel message with immediacy, for the benefit of the educated faithful and the unlettered. And today they welcome the visitor as in a great sacred theatre, with vivid expressive power, accompanying him on a journey of meditation. A journey through the beauty of an authentically popular art.

The complex was designed by Fra Tommaso da Firenze. Of this Franciscan we know that he lived for years in San Vivaldo, after long stays in the East and perhaps in the Holy Land, and that he died in 1534. The construction of the monastery, the chapels and the church as it appears to us today, proceeded almost hand in hand, and was completed in a relatively short time, relying also on the spiritual fervour and civic pride of the local people. In fact, when the Franciscans arrived at the end of the 15th century, the ancient small church of S. Maria in Camporena was already present here, the site of a remote local cult linked to the figure of the hermit Vivaldo, of uncertain historical identification, who, according to tradition, lived between the 13th and 14th centuries and died here in contemplative solitude in the hollow of a chestnut tree trunk that he had chosen as his home. The little ‘Jerusalem of Tuscany’ was thus also born from the seed of devotion linked to the ancient hermit tradition of this place, so deeply rooted in the populations of the entire Valdelsa, who flocked to contribute to the construction of the chapels. It seems, in this regard, that many were those who undertook to transport the stones on foot from the bed of the nearby Evola stream, along the slope towards the places under construction.

As early as 1516 (1517 according to the ‘modern style’ calendar), a Brief of Pope Leo X granted indulgences to those who made pilgrimages to the 34 chapels of San Vivaldo, and for centuries the tradition of pilgrimage was kept alive at this holy place. Today’s ‘Jerusalem’ does not entirely coincide with the original plan. Some of the locations named in the Papal Brief have been lost over time, while others were added in later periods. However, the transformations have not altered the overall layout of the work and its high value as a historical, artistic, spiritual and anthropological testimony.

Jerusalem of San Vivaldo
Via S. Vivaldo, 1, 50050 San Vivaldo FI
43.524313, 10.898291

The complex is part of the project Piccoli e grandi Musei della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze

VISITS, TIMES AND TICKETS:

The monumental complex ‘The Jerusalem of San Vivaldo’ can be visited at the following times:

Winter hours
01/11-31/03
Monday-Saturday: 14.00 – 17.00
Sundays and public holidays: 14.00 – 17.00

Summer hours
01/04-31/10
Monday-Saturday: 15.00 – 19.00
Wednesday 21.00 – 23.00 (only 16/06-15/09)
Sundays and public holidays: 10.00 – 19.00

Reservations are only necessary for large groups, for which it is also possible to open after hours
Visits can be booked at the following addresses:

E-mail: turismo@comune.montaione.fi.it
Telephone: 0571 699255 – 205 – 267

VISIT RULES AND RELATED FEES:

Opening and full guided tour (1 hour)
– Full price ticket € 5.00
– Reduced price ticket € 4.00

Opening and full guided tour (1 hour) + entrance to the Civic Museum of Montaione
– Full price ticket € 6.00
– Reduced price ticket € 4.00

Opening and full guided tour (1 hour) + single admission to the Sistema Museale Empolese Valdelsa (includes 21 museums)
– Single ticket € 15.00
– Family ticket € 35.00 (2 adults + max 3 under 18)

Reduced opening and guided tour (30 min.)
– Full price ticket € 4.00
– Reduced price ticket € 3.00

Single opening for 1 hour with own guide (reserved for groups of at least 10 people)
Total ticket € 30.00

Reduced admission
– Children aged 5 to 14
– Adults over 65 years
– Organised groups of more than 20 people
– Students from 15 to 25 years old and holders of CARTA GIOVANI
– Amici dei Borghi card holders

Free admission
– Children under 5 years of age
– School visits by the schools of Montaione
– School visits as part of Mudev educational projects
– Disabled visitors and accompanying persons
– EDUMUSEI card holders
– Visitors representing institutions