Agostiniane di Lecceto

Located 10 km from Siena, in a forest of holm oaks, the Eremo di Lecceto is one of the cradles of the Order of Saint Augustine. Augustinian nuns have lived there since 1972, welcoming those who seek silence and prayer.

A hermitage born in the forest

In the 12th century, the forest surrounding Lecceto had a bad reputation: it was a den of bandits. Yet a small group of hermits settled there, in caves carved into the tufa rock, to seek God. In 1228, they consecrated their small church, the first nucleus of communal life.

These men chose the Rule of Saint Augustine. They are at the origin of the Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine, which the Holy See founded through two papal bulls, in 1244 and 1256. Above the portal, a Latin inscription sums up the history of the place: Ilicetum vetus, sanctitatis illicium. It can be translated as "ancient den of holiness" or "ancient attraction of holiness."

The 14th and 15th centuries were the golden age of Lecceto. Prior Filippo degli Agazzari recounted the lives of the blessed of Lecceto in a collection of exemplary tales, the Assempri, and a large painting depicts them on a "tree of the blessed." Saint Catherine of Siena knew the hermitage well. She was a friend of several brothers, including the Englishman William Flete, who was for many years her spiritual director.

The brothers remained until the suppressions of the early 19th century. The hermitage was then abandoned and pillaged. In 1816, the archdiocesan seminary of Siena purchased it and made it the summer residence for its seminarians, until 1940. In the 1940s, a poet-priest of the diocese, Don Martino, known as Idilio d'Ellera, lived there for a time as a hermit and celebrated in his verses the rugged beauty of this forest.

The Augustinian nuns of Lecceto

On December 30, 1972, the Augustinian nuns of the monastery Santa Maria degli Angeli left the via delle Sperandie in Siena to settle at Lecceto. They were elderly, and many people helped them through the early difficulties. In 1979 the first young sister arrived, followed by many others. The renewal of the community owes much to Mother Alessandra Macajone, Superior from 1989 until her sudden death in 2005. She rests today in the church of the hermitage.

The sisters describe themselves simply: women, friends and sisters, daughters of Saint Augustine. They seek to live like the first community of Jerusalem, with "one heart and one soul" turned toward God. Their life comes down to four words: prayer, study, community life, and work. Study holds a genuine place here, in the tradition of Saint Augustine, for whom one cannot love what one does not know.

The sisters' work sustains the community, which receives no subsidies. At the hermitage, their shop is called L'Upupa, named after the hoopoe bird that visits their vegetable garden and appears in the cloister frescoes. It offers handmade items, often one of a kind.

What a retreat at Lecceto is like

You arrive at Lecceto along a long tree-lined drive, and the noise of the road quickly fades away. All around, the forest of holm oaks. Inside, cloisters, a well, ancient frescoes, and a church where the community prays seven times a day.

Here, all prayer is sung. The sisters are fond of quoting Saint Augustine: singing belongs to one who loves. The offices mark the rhythm of the day, from the Office of Readings in the early morning to Compline in the evening. The church remains open: you are welcome to join in prayer as much as you wish.

The rest of the time belongs to silence. The sisters express it in their own way on their website: God speaks in the great silence of the heart. A walk in the woods, a moment in the cloister, or an hour of reading is often enough to find it again.

Practical information

The sisters offer monastic hospitality to anyone who wishes to share with them a period of silence and prayer, whether short or extended.

There is no fixed rate. Each person contributes to expenses freely, according to their means. The community feels strongly about this: they do not want to turn anyone away for financial reasons. Remember to bring your own sheets (or a sleeping bag), a pillowcase, and your towels, unless otherwise arranged with the sisters.

On weekdays, the day of prayer begins at 6:00 a.m. with the Office of Readings and ends at 9:00 p.m. with Compline. Mass is celebrated at 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. On Thursday evenings, a time of Eucharistic adoration takes place from 6:15 p.m. to 7:40 p.m.

For those aged 18 to 35, the sisters have offered for several summers a three-day monastic experience, "Cosa c'è oltre il muro" (What is there beyond the wall?), to share closely in their daily life.

The length of stay and meals are arranged with the sisters at the time of the stay request.

Around Lecceto

Siena is only about ten kilometers away. Visitors come for the Piazza del Campo, the cathedral, and the sanctuary of Saint Catherine's house, which extends quite naturally a stay at Lecceto, where the saint came to visit her hermit friends.

Very close to the hermitage, the former Augustinian hermitage of San Leonardo al Lago preserves beautiful 14th-century frescoes. A little further north, Monteriggioni has kept its medieval walls and towers, set on a hill amid vineyards and olive groves.