Vallombrosa

Vallombrosa ('Shady Valley'), a celebrated abbey among the Apennines, 15 miles E. of Florence, in a valley surrounded with forests of fir, beech, and chestnut trees. Here an order of Benedictine monks was founded about 1038. They became very wealthy through donations, and the present magnificent buildings were erected in 1673. In 1869 the monastery was suppressed; but the place is still much visited by artists and tourists. Vallombrosa was visited by Dante, celebrated by Ariosto in the Orlando Furioso, and is mentioned by Milton in the Paradise Lost.