Badia di Passignano

The Badia di Passignano, also called the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo a Passignano is a historic Benedictine abbey located atop a scenic hilltop, surrounded by cypresses, east of the town of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Province of Florence, Italy.

By the year 1049 when a prior hermitage was donated to John Gualbert, the founder of the Vallombrosan Order.

[2] Refurbished and altered over the centuries, in 1866 the monks were expelled and the site was sold to private owners, one of whom created some of the faux crenellations and towers.

The abbey in the 19th-century housed a remarkable collection of over 6000 parchment manuscripts, many brought here by Grand-Duke Leopold.

[5] The abbey is known for a number of frescoes, created by artists over a number of centuries, including works by Filippo di Antonio Filippelli, Benedetto Veli, Alessandro Pieroni, Alessandro Allori, Bernardo di Stefano Rosselli, Giuseppe Nicola Nasini, and Domenico Passignano The refectory houses frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his brother Davide.