Paradoxically it was thanks to the negligence which lead to the crumble that gave the abbey its romantic charm. The remains of the complex represent one of the masterpieces of the Italian Gothic-Cistercensian style. The first building at San Galgano was raised at the end of the 12th century, when the noble man Galgano Guidotti converted to the religious life. The monastery was founded by him and grow fast. The big church with a Latin cross was built between 1224 and 1288, according to the model of the French Cistercensian churches. The church started to fall in ruins already in the 16th century due to the abandoning and in 1786 the bell-tower and roof collapsed completely. The abbey was desecrated in 1789. The chapter-house, the monks’ hall, recently restructured and a part of the cloister are what remain of the abbey. Close to the monumental remains of the abbey, on the hill of Montesiepi, you find the small primitive church founded by San Galgano. A destination or curious and interested people, which features in the centre of the pavement the stone in which Galgano stuck in the spade, as a sign that he abandoned the secular life. In the chapel you can admire the frescoes from the 14th century by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, representing the Annunciation.