The Abbey of Passignano is located in the heart of Chianti Classico, a former monastery dating back to 395, when it was founded by the Archbishop of Florence. It is still inhabited by monks of the Vallombrosian order, keepers of its cultural and historical treasures.
The Vallombrosian order, a reformed branch of the Benedictines, specialized in viticulture and forestry, was founded by Saint Giovanni Gualberto, whose relics are in the church of the abbey since his death in 1073.
The Vallombrosan monks and the Abbey of Passignano are known, since the Middle Ages, for the attention to the classical texts and music, for promoting scientific research (Galileo Galilei taught there in 1587) and for the care of the land through cultivations, especially of vines, and reforestation.
