Camaldoli

Camaldoli is a frazione of the comune of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can be still visited. 
The Holy Hermitage and Monastery of Camaldoli is situated in an ancient forest in the Tuscan Apennines. It was founded about 1023 by Saint Romuald, a Benedictine monk, with the permission of Tedald, Bishop of Arezzo.
In the monastery of Camaldoli there is a welcoming room, a great hall, and an old style pharmacy, which originally was a laboratory where monks studied and used medicinal spices and plants to cure the sick in the old hospital and which can be visited today. The precious walnut decor dates back to 1543. The church, meanwhile, was constructed in the Baroque style and contains works by Giorgio Vasari. It was established to deal with the ever-growing number of pilgrims, who were drawn by the reported holiness of the monks and for reflection in the middle of the forest. 
A few kilometers farther up the mountain is the "Sacred Hermitage," or Sacro Eremo which is the more ancient part of the foundation, directly established by St. Romuald. This has served as the heart of both community and the order which bears the location's name.
==External links==
* http://www.camaldoli.it/web_en/ca_storia/ca_storia00.htm
* http://www.camaldoliospitalita.it/inglese/camaldoli.html
Category:Cities and towns in Tuscany
Category:Frazioni of the Province of Arezzo
Category:Monasteries in Tuscany
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