Thousand years of art...
Palazzo Cervini provides both a summer and winter retreat for authors, painters, ramblers and anyone else who longs for peace and tranquillity. These stunning surroundings create the ideal atmosphere for completing a first novel, painting a watercolour or just simply reading a book in nature!
Palazzo Cervini is a spectacular Renaissance palazzo, dating back to the 16th Century and is one of the finest examples of a Pope’s residence in Tuscany. Its construction was comissioned by Cardinal Cervini, later to become Pope Marcello II.
The palace is built entirely from lava rock, taken from the slopes of the volcano Mount Amiata upon which it is built this immense construction rises six stories high over the valleys of the famous Val d’Orcia, in itself a national park.
The ancient lava outcrop which consisted of huge rocks, caves and gullies were created by the river Vivo. These caves and large gullies were once home to a very special group of hermit monks, named i Camaldolesi , originally from Camaldoli near Florence. The Camaldolese monks searched for peaceful, natural and spiritual places in which they could practise their faith and they found this on the volcano Amiata, precisely where the Cervini’s Palace finds itself today.
In 1004 AD Saint Romoaldo created a small hermitage in the nearby woods and soon set about the construction of a large monastery to house the Camaldolesi on the same larval outcrop. By this time the Camaldolesi had become a highly respected order, very similar to the Franciscan and other nature-based orders of monks. They lived extensively from their own crops/production and were specialists in the development of herbal/plant - based healing remedies and other medicines. They were essentially craftsman/artists of the land and their skills formed the basis to many of the moder day teachings on herbal medicine.
After the overthrowing and subsequent destruction of the monastery by the people of the neighbouring village of Castiglione d’Orcia in 1328, the estate changed hands to the Cervini family in 1538. The property was soon re-constructed by Cardinal Marcello Cervini who was soon to become Pope Marcello II. Using Papal power and the Vatican’s Architect Antonio de Sangallo Pope Marcello II had a Palazzo Cervini constructed upon the original site of the Camaldolese’s monastery.
At the same time the Pope had a Hermitage (or ‘Eremo’) built to house the Camaldolese order of monks and they finally received the home and the acknowledgement that they truly deserved.
During the Renaissance period unique artworks were acquired by the family and architectural improvements were performed to the interior of the Palace, rendering it one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture and art in the whole of the Val d’Orcia. The Cervini family has maintained the artistic elements and the a noble respect for its land-based tradition to this very day! Countess Daria Cervini and her brothers, all direct descendants to Pope Marcello, are now opening the property for all those interested in experiencing the wonder of the estate’s natural splendour and the tranquillity it evokes.
During the off season these stunning properties are now available to writers, artists and lovers of architecture who wish to experience a totally unique experience in the Tuscan countryside.
The stunning landscape of the volcano has inspired countless artists over the centuries, providing an absolutely superb retreat for writers and other artists wishing to pursue art, in all of its forms.
The estate is still owned by Count Cervini and his family, the direct descendants of the 16th century Pope.
Marriage of the Virgin, by Rapahel.
Self portrait, by Leonardo da Vinci.
Pope Marcello Cervini
The construction of Palazzo Cervini was commissioned in 1538 by Cardinal Marcello Cervini from Montepulciano in southern Tuscany. However the story of this remarkable estate dates back another 500 years to 1000 AD.
In 1004 AD San Romualdo, attracted by the natural beauty and tranquillity of the area, established a small hermitage (Ermicciolo) near the source of an extremely large freshwater spring in the dense forest of the volcano Amiata that feeds the famous river Vivo (meaning quite simply ‘alive’). The water provided by this spring now supplies the city of Siena with 30% of it’s total water reserve. San Romualdo established the hermitage in the name of San Benedetto and created the order of hermit monks named the ‘Camaldolesi’.
Shortly after this a larger hermitage was constructed from lava rock, together with a large monastery (named San Pietro) within the estate . The Monastery was built on a prominent larval outcrop consisting of large boulders and caves that during the medieval had provided shelter for a small group of hermit monks. The monastery's influence soon allowed it to gain control of a vast territory that stretched over almost the entire Val d’Orcia and north towards Siena.
Cardinal Marcello Cervini became Pope Marcello II on April 10th 1555 but sadly passed away after just 22 days after having suffered an apoplectic fit. Curiously, he was an unpopular figure in the Vatican due to his humility and the lengths that he went to distribute the wealth of the church back to society and the common people. He could almost be considered an early socialist and his views appear to have been shared by his architect Antonio Sangallo who designed the estate without displaying the usual frills of Papal power.
The sudden death of Pope Marcello II did not prevent the family from establishing a paper processing workshop within the grounds, in 1774 driven again by a water mill. Fed by the spring water and using the abundant timber of the volcano’s forests it was soon manufacturing one of the highest quality writing papers in Europe of it’s day. This fine quality paper was subsequently used by the Vatican.
