San Francesco Convent

The convent of San Francesco was built from 1276 over a small temple erected in 783 in honor of San Miniato, by the will of the Lombards. It is said that in 1211 San Francesco, a guest at that time in San Miniato, received this place as a gift and here he decided to found his convent. The first works concerned the church and the rooms used as a convent and sacristy. Later, from the first half of the 16th century, a housing part was built above the cloister attached to the large church, the old refectory (which later became a gymnasium) and a chapel dedicated to Ludovico d’Angiò. Around the first cloister, known as the “fathers”, cells, corridors and the large refectory were built on the back wall of which the “Franciscan Supper” by the painter Carlo Bambocci (1690) stands out. The second cloister, known as the “novices”, was built towards the end of the 1600s. In the following centuries the community became impoverished, the chapel in Ludovico was transformed into an oil mill and during the wars the premises were also used for military and health purposes . The convent was also closed for some periods but then returned to the friars thanks to popular intervention. Now the convent is managed by the Christian association New Horizons founded by Chiara Amirante.