The Order of the Hermits of Saint Augustine arose in the middle of the thirteenth century as the union of various groups of hermits and anchorites that were already present in Tuscany since the eleventh century. These small groups of ascetics, following the example of the ancient Desert Fathers and of Benedictine monks, had withdrawn into impervious areas of the forest, far away from the din of the city, ready to live a simple life oriented around prayer and solitary contemplation. In the second half of the thirteenth century in the area of Siena, especially the area southwest of the current city which was once immersed in woodlands, there were numerous hermitages, many of which no longer exist today. These religious places were not Augustinian from the beginning, but embraced the Rule only later.
Among the main ones that adhered to the Augustinian Order were, in chronological order, San Leonardo a Lago Verano, Santi Lucia e Antonio in Valle di Rosia, Santa Maria di Montespecchio, San Salvatore di Lecceto and Sant’Agostino di Monticiano.
Of these five, the most famous and important is Lecceto, which was always in close contact with Santa Maria di Montespecchio and later with San Leonardo a Lago Verano.