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Looking out on ancient rural dwellings scattered across the 800 hectares of unspoiled land belonging to the Abbey, and the thousands of hectares of equally unspoiled land surrounding the estate, looking out on ancient crumbling walls with only the sounds of nature to break the immense silence, it was here that we embarked upon our dream and challenge: to offer a new lease of life to these ancient buildings while at the same time preserving that silence.
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"Abbazia di Spineto a thousand years later"
While observing the disposition of the ancient dwellings - farmhouses - around the main building - the Abbey - we noticed that the way in which the monks a had positioned them was very similar to that of a university campus. It was thus that the idea of
"Progetto Campus" came into being and in choosing the name we also took into account the connection between the Latin root of the Italian word
"campo" (field) and the Abbey's rural surroundings.
The objective of the project was to gradually reclaim these rural homes and put them to new and different use. In the past, the farmhouses and the Benedictine Abbey were united through the various farming activities. These ties could be revived in an innovative way through the various activities of
"incontri e studi" - meeting and study - which would take place at the abbey.
Each house has been reclaimed and organized in such a way as to render it completely independent while at the same time, if required, in contact with the abbey; each one can accommodate guests participating in study and research meetings, business meetings, training courses, incentive trips, or small groups taking part in discussions on topics such as art, culture or wine and cuisine.
Guests can enjoy all the comforts and make use of the most up-to-date methods of communication; but above all we want them to feel free to enjoy these homes as they would those of their best friends; to enjoy moments of tranquility in a home deep in the enchanting Tuscan countryside together with that special something which makes being together, working and studying together in an uncontaminated environment an immense pleasure.
While discovering new emotions or calling to mind past times, thanks to modern technology visitors need not lose virtual contact with their permanent role in life.
In spite of the fact that restoration has been completed and the Abbey and the homes are regularly filled with visitors, we continue to talk of “Progetto Campus” because our original project continues to occupy us in a daily search to cherish and preserve the uniqueness of this land.
Ours is a project concerning quality of life, a way of being, close to nature, in a period in time suspended somewhere between the past and the present.
Visitors to Spineto take part in this project with us and it is not long before they find that they a not so much a participant, more so the protagonist.
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