Asciano

Asciano is a town of Tuscany, in the Province of Siena, 30km. S.E. of the town of Siena by rail. Population: 6,845 (2004-12-31). It is surrounded by walls built by the Sienese in 1351, and has some fourteenth-century churches with paintings of the same period. Remains of Roman baths, with a fine mosaic pavement, were found within the town in 1898 (G. Pellegrini in Notizie degli scavi, 1899, 6).

10km to the south is the large Benedictine monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, mother-house of the Olivetans, founded in 1320. The cloister is famous for the series of frescoes illustrating scenes from the legend of St. Benedict begun by Luca Signorelli (1497–1498) and completed by il Sodoma (1505). The latter master's work is perhaps nowhere better represented than here. The church contains fine inlaid choir stalls by Fra Giovanni da Verona. The buildings, which are mostly of red brick, are conspicuous against the gray clayey and sandy soil—the crete senesi which give this area of Tuscany its name. The monastery is described by Pope Pius II in his Commentaria.

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