The Abbey of San Salvatore gave its name to the village of Abbadia San Salvatore, on Monte Amiata, and has ancient origins: it was founded in 743 according to the legend of the Lombardic King Ratchis in the place where Christ appeared to him above a white fir tree. However it was not only reasons of worship which decided the establishment of the Church but also the necessity of controlling the street which wound down into the valley. The path from the Via Francigena in Val d’Orcia and in the Val di Paglia gave rise to important territorial transformations, since it determined the need for many settlements. For centuries the population settled along this route. The monks of San Salvatore guaranteed security and prosperity to the inhabitants of the village, when moving from Florence to Rome required six whole days of walking. In 1258 it was abandoned when, for security reasons, the Sienese diverted the route towards the Fortress of Radicofani. Today from the old site along the Francigena, at which many illustrious people probably stopped, there are no visible remains of the trail except for a cobbled section of the ancient road.

Sources: abbaziasansalvatore.it