The mystery of the sword in the stone of Montesiepi

Montesiepi is a very small town located a few kilometers from Siena, better known as San Galgano. Here is in fact the church that stands on the hermitage founded by this saint. In the church, which has a circular plan, there is the sword in the stone. According to legend, Galgano Guidotti was a knight of fortune who renounced his life to become a friar. To show that he had changed his life, he stuck his sword in a stone. It was once thought to have taken advantage of a crack, but chemical studies done in 2001 showed that this is not the case. The sword has been vandalized several times. Until 1924 it could still be extracted, but then the parish priest had it blocked with molten lead. It was broken up in the 1960s, and then reinstated with concrete, and finally in the 1990s the protective dome that now houses it was built. The link with the famous sword of King Arthur is not proven, but various elements suggest that a Celtic legacy may also exist in Montesiepi.