Complesso di Santa Chiara (Museo Archeologico, Spezieria di Santa Fina e Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Raffaele De Grada)

The Santa Chiara complex in San Gimignano brings together an archaeological museum, the historic Spezieria di Santa Fina and a modern art gallery named for Raffaele De Grada.

Why it matters

The former convent unites three strands of the town's history: Etruscan and Roman settlement, the charitable institutions of the medieval commune and modern artistic life. Its collections place these histories in a building later used as a conservatory for young women.

What to notice

The archaeological holdings include Etruscan and Roman finds, glass and ceramics from medieval production, and material from Torraccia di Chiusi and the Roman villa of Aiano. The Spezieria preserves majolica, earthenware jars and glass vessels once used by the hospital's apothecary. The modern gallery includes paintings by Raffaele De Grada and other twentieth-century artists, alongside views of San Gimignano made between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Context and history

The building began as the monastery of Santa Chiara and later became a conservatory. The civic collections, hospital apothecary and modern gallery now share the complex. Following restoration, the institution reopened in 2024 with the three collections presented together, linking the pre-Roman countryside, medieval charitable institutions and modern interpretations of the town.