Italy has a more commendable Sword in the Stone story than the Arthurian legend. While Arthur pulled out the sword to gain power over all England, St. Galgano’s La spada nella roccia is a sign of peace.
Born to wealth in the Tuscan town of Chiusdino, Galgano had a dream in 1180 that the Archangel Michael and the Apostles would lead him to peace if he gave up his knight life. He took the deal, plunging his sword into a stone to show he renounced all violence.
Galgano lived next to the stone as an animal-loving hermit. After he died,, Pope Lucious III declared him a saint and built a round chapel around the stone (under which Galgano is supposedly buried).
But wait, it gets better.
Later, three envious louts tried to pull out the sword. A wolf that Galgano had befriended attacked the sword-stealers and ripped their arms off. And now those mummified arms are displayed in a glass case in the Montesiepi Chapel.
Sound as likely as Arthur and Merlin? Ha! In 2001 researchers from the University of Pavia used Carbon-14 dating to show the arms and the sword were indeed from the 12th century.
There may be no Italian Camelot, but the story of one man’s pledge of peace continues on a beautiful hilltop in Tuscany.
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