Hermitage of Lecceto
An ancient hermitage in the countryside of Lastra a Signa
The Lecceto Hermitage is located in Malmantile - in the countryside of Lastra a Signa - and was founded as a hermitage in 1473 by the Dominican friar Domenico Guerrucci who, from the Convent of St. Marco in Florence, decided to retire to a contemplative life accompanied by a brother.
Financed by Florentine Filippo Strozzi, whose coat of arms can be seen in various parts of the church, the convent is located on a very ancient thoroughfare, on a charming cypress-lined avenue leading from Gangalandi to the Church of Lamole.
After various events and changes of ownership, the ancient convent was purchased by the Archbishop of Florence as a place of spirituality and meeting.
The Church of Lecceto is an excellent example of late 15th-century architecture: today a late 15th-century painting can be seen on the high altar, the central part of which is the work of Neri di Bicci, who intervened on an existing 14th-century painting.
Today it is used as a center for spiritual exercises.
