Badia Prataglia - Santa Maria Assunta e San Bartolomeo

"Santa Maria Assunta e San Bartolomeo" is the last remaining structure of an abbey, founded in 986 by Benectian monks from Montcassino. In 1008 the church of the abbey was consecrated by Elemperto, Bishop of Arezzo.

In Camaldoli, only about six kilometers west another abbey was founded in 1012 by Saint Romuald, a Benedictine hermit. The rise of the order of the (still existing) Camaldolese created conflicts between the two convents, that lasted for centuries.

The parish church of today is the result of numerous alterations, but the interior is still Romanesque. Under the risen choir is a crypt. This crypt, renovated in the early 20th century, is for sure the oldest part of the church. It surely existed around 1000, but it is claimed, that it existed already in the 6th century and was built over a Roman temple.

A person arms up in the gesture of orant and a row of knots and circles, near the niche, where probably the relics were stored.