San Michele alla Verruca, Medieval monastery ruins on Mount Verruca in Vicopisano, Italy.
San Michele alla Verruca is a monastery ruin perched on a hillside near Vicopisano in Tuscany, with stone walls, apse fragments, and building foundations scattered across the site. The complex spreads across different levels, showing how the terrain was organized to serve both spiritual and practical needs.
The monastery was founded in 1263, though a church had already stood on this hilltop since the 8th century. Multiple religious orders came and went over the centuries before the site was eventually abandoned.
The site's name references Saint Michael and Mount Verruca, reflecting its religious significance in the medieval landscape. Walking around the ruins today, you can sense how monks once structured their daily routines within these walls.
The ruins are reached by a marked trail starting from Vicopisano cemetery, a walk that takes about half an hour. The site is free to visit year-round, though the path surface varies with the seasons.
Digs conducted in the 1990s and 2000s revealed that people inhabited this location for more than a thousand years, leaving distinct layers of occupation. These archaeological findings show how the site's purpose and importance shifted from the early medieval period through the modern era.
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