Nicosia Monastery in Calci, Tuscany

Explore the ruins of Il Monastero di Sant'Agostino di Nicosia

I love ruins. Real ones out in the middle of nowhere just waiting for the actively curious to discover them.  There's this move afoot to restore old places. That's not a bad thing. But will we ever see ruins again? Ruins are romantic. I've decided you needed a little picture gallery of the ruins of Il Monastero di Sant'Agostino di Nicosia, called the Convento di Nicosia on the map below, near the town of Calci since it's seldom available for a visit except during festivals. Construction started on the monastery in 1263.

The complex is found in the center of the map and is labeled "Convento di Nicosia".

As you can see on the map if you use the map controls to zoom out a bit, the monastery is a bit south of the interesting Certosa pisana di Calci which you can visit and has been turned into a museum. The monastery, however, remains closed to general tourism, but is open for some special events, like Festa di primavera tra camelie e tesori a Nicosia in spring when the camellias found in the courtyard bloom.

To find out when Nicosia Monastery is open, consult the web page: Nicosia Nostra or perhaps the Facebook page, both in Italian. This is the volunteer group trying to preserve the monastery and clean it of graffiti on a regular basis.

The road leading south from the monastery on the map is a newly opened trail that evidently leads east to the castle ruins of La Fortezza della Verruca. You'll see the trail blaze near the monastery, as in the second picture below.

Another fine walk is the Monti Pisani Olive Oil Trail. In total the trail is 29 km long and includes the communities of Buti, Calci, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano and Vicopisano

Nicosia Monastery Pictures

More Nicosia Monastery Resources

Isabel's Travel Guide has more pictures and information on the Nicosia Monastery: Nicosia Nostra.

Nicosia Nostra, the site itself, is a volunteer effort to preserve the monastery. The site is in Italian, but it's easy to see what's going on.

For more on the town of Calci, see our blog post: Calci - Hidden Tuscany. You'll learn some interesting secrets about the churches in Calci.

Recommended Lodging

Il Molendino is a highly rated b&b in the countryside, where you can arrange all manner of country excursions, including on horseback, a popular way of wandering in Calci and the valley it’s located in: Val Graziosa. You can also search for other user rated Calci Hotels.

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