Camaldoli

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Camaldoli is a frazione of the comune of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, who originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can be still visited. The annexed church has works by Giorgio Vasari.

The Holy Hermitage and Monastery of Camaldoli is situated in a thousand year-old forest in the Tuscan Apennines. Territorially, the monastery falls under the Commune of Poppi (AR). It is an extraordinarily beautiful, inspiring and peaceful place and reflects Camaldoli's history and spiritual identity.

Founded between 1024 and 1025 by St. Romualdo, a Benedictine monk, the town of Camaldoli was based on the Western monastic tradition of St. Benedict (5th and 6th centuries).

In the monastery of Camaldoli there is a welcoming room, a great hall, and an old style pharmacy, which originally was a laboratory where friars studied and used medicinal spices and plants to cure the sick in the old hospital. Today, you can visit the ancient pharmacy and purchase herbal remedies for common ailments. The precious walnut decor dates back to 1543. The church, meanwhile, was constructed in the Baroque style and contains works by Vasari.

A few kilometers away is the retreat of Camaldoli, "l'Eremo di Camaldoli," which came into being shortly after the establishment of the monastery in order to host monks who were willing to give up their everyday lives for lives of silence and reflection in the middle of the forest. Uniting community with solitude, the monks are able to appreciate a unique form of religious equilibrium. The monks of Camaldoli follow the order of S. Benedict with added principles of their own making; their order is formally known as the "Congregazione Camaldolese dell'ordine di S.Benedetto."

Some famous monks of Camaldoli include Sant'Alberico, who died around 1050 in a retreat near Sarsina (FC), and Raniero Ranieri, who became the Pope under the name of Pasquale II during the Middle Ages.