The huge block of edifices between via San Pietro and viale Martiri della Libertà is occupied by an abandoned barrack and by the Benedectine monastery.
Built at the beginning of the XVI century, it surrounds four courtyards. Two of them are very interesting. The first is called “della Spezieria”: here you can catch a wonderful view of the lancet windows of the side of the cathedral and admire a little fountain dating back to the XVII century. The second is called “delle colonne” and it is an extraordinary piece of the Renaissance art. There is a portico with Ionic columns and particular coupled windows.
In the interior, the Sacristy is painted with flowers and a Christ by Gerolamo da Vignola (the inlaid furniture is by Giovan Battista Brennona, 1548). In the other rooms, a rich gold altar and terracotta corbels, similar to those on the facade of the Church°°.
[Images by the Author with the kind permission of the Monastery]
