The monastery of the Tau, dedicated to the worship of Saint Anthony Abbot (vi), takes its name from the cross that was sewn on the monks' robes; the form recalls the shape of the stick that, according to the most popular iconography of the time, the saint used to lean on.
The monastery was founded, together with the adjoining chapel of Saint Antho (vs44),in the mid 1300s by the Florentine Giovanni Guidotti. It represents an architectural composition of remarkable importance in which the style and the materials used are derived directly from the Florentine culture of the time. The monastery played a particularly prominent role in the religious organization of the city. in spite of the fact that it was erected later than other similar foundations, the complex - whose rooms today house the Centro di Documentazione Marino Marin (vs49), was built in the heart of the urban setting, occupying a space left free by the demolition of the second city wall (vs8).
The monks, dedicated to spreading the worship of their patron saint and to gathering alms, never dealt directly with helping the infirm, a primary duty for other Antonian communities. They did, however, make a mark on the social context by their special relationship with the rural population who turned to Saint Anthony for protection of their animals. From its foundation, the house in Pistoia was meant to be essentially a place of worship. After a period of prosperity under Pope Leone X, it slipped into a progressive and inevitable decline that resulted in the abolition of the Order in the late 1700s. The monastery and church were sold to private owners who used them for other functions that irremediably damaged the structures. Recent, careful restoration has brought back, if only partially, some of the buildings' ancient dignity.

The Origins of the Worship of Saint Anthony Abbot

There is a sickness that is still referred to today as "the f ire of Saint Anthony" and, since it is simply one of the many forms of herpes virus, its prognosis is always positive. Instead the greatly feared "fire" that long afflicted western populations during the Middle Ages was of different origin and resulted in death. It was a kind of food poisoning that led to serious gangrenes. Since legend had it that one could be cured by praying to Saint Anthony Abbot, the French church of San Desiderio, in which the remains of the saint were housed from 1100 on, became the destination of frequent pilgrimage Around it developed a small community whose duty was to collect aims for pilgrims and for the sick. Soon a hospital was erected next to the church to aid the infirm and as a result the cult of Saint Anthony began to extend beyond the French borders and to spread throughout Europe. (n.) refers to the number of the file-card (s.i.) means see information inside