San Vivaldo is a sacred complex of Franciscan chapels built in a wooded hillside about four kilometres south-west of Montaione. The site was established on the spot where a hermit named Vivaldo died in 1320, his body found three years later miraculously preserved under a chestnut tree. In 1500, friars began building an elaborate series of chapels designed to reproduce the stations of the Passion and the holy places of Jerusalem — a so-called Sacred Mount, of which a handful survive across Tuscany and Umbria, but San Vivaldo is among the most complete.
Eighteen of the original thirty-four chapels survive, each housing terracotta sculptural groups depicting episodes from the Passion of Christ. The figures were made in the early sixteenth century in the manner of the Della Robbia workshop — polychrome glazed terracotta — and retain remarkable expressive power. The surrounding oak and chestnut woods give the complex a genuinely otherworldly atmosphere, especially on a misty morning when few visitors are present. The small Franciscan friary next to the complex is still occupied. Entrance is free; a modest donation is appreciated.