Walking Sticks in the Abbey

One of the highlights of visiting the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore in Tuscany is experiencing the life of St. Benedict fresco cycle. The earliest paintings on the cloister walls are from Benedict's later life by Luca Signorelli. There are 27 panels by Giovanni Antonia Bazzi, called il Sodoma, and one painting of St. Benedict in Sicily by Bartolomeo Neroni, known as il Ricco, a pupil of il Sodoma.

Here are a couple "walking sticks"

to give you a peek at the frescoes.

From one of the frescoes of the life of Benedict(1505) by il Sodoma.

From a fresco of Benedict and companions

travelling to Monte Casino (1497) by Signorelli.

Around the corner from the cloister I found a hallway with some frescoes of the Desert Fathers (1440) attributed to Giovanni di Paolo.

This post is dedicated to Fr. John Baptist, CP,

a friend in Rome who is looking for a walking stick.