 MONTE OLIVETO MAGGIORE is an early foundation of the Olivetan Order and the Abbey itself is one of the most interesting in Italy. lt stands in the very heart of Tuscany in a beautiful position 33 Km. from Siena among lofty cypresses facing a very suggestive view of the Sienese 'crete' (moors).
It was begun in 1313 by Giovanni Tolomei, later on called Bernardo, with the help of the Sienese nobles Patrizio Patrizi  and Ambrogio Piccolomini who lived as hermits with Bernardo; the place at that time was know as the "deserto di Accòna" (the desert of Accona).
Other hermits joined them in the process of time. The new foundation followed the Benedictine Rule and, having been approved by Guido Tarlati, the Archbishop of Arezzo in 1319, was sanctioned by Pope Clement VI in 1344.
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