It was a major religious institution of the region until it was initially abandoned by the monks due to earthquake damage in the 19th century and then taken over and dissolved under the Risorgimento movement for the political unification of the Italian peninsula.

The site of the abbey was the shrine housing the remains of Justin and Clement, two African Christians, possibly brothers, who, according to tradition, had arrived in Volterra in AD 537 as refugees from the invasion of their homeland by the Visigoths.

After the destruction of these original chapels, during the Lombard invasions, they were rebuilt and expanded at the end of the 7th century by the head of the guilds of the city, named Alchis.

At that same time, he founded a Benedictine monastery on nearby Monte Nibbio, under the dedication of the Holy Savior (Italian: Badia di San Salvatore) to which he entrusted the care of the Church of Sts.

With this project, they began to embellish and expand the monastic complex, starting with the cloister of the monastery, which was rebuilt according to the design of the noted Florentine architect, Bartolomeo Ammannati.

They restored the damage caused to the chamber during the period of 1530-1532 when the monks were forced to flee the abbey due to a siege of the city by the Republic of Florence.

[1] With the continued deterioration of the buildings, and partial collapse due to earthquakes, the property passed back and forth between the Italian government and the City of Volterra.