Monastero di San Niccolò

The Monastery of San Niccolò in Prato preserves a Renaissance cloister, a frescoed refectory, an eighteenth-century church interior and a historic Scala Santa chapel.

Why it matters

Cardinal Niccolò da Prato founded the Dominican nuns' monastery between 1323 and 1328. Its church, cloisters, chapter house and gardens form an extensive monastic complex within the city and preserve an unusually rich record of religious and educational life.

What to notice

The church has an alberese facade with terracotta arches and an interior decorated with polychrome marble and gilding. The complex includes a nuns' choir, frescoes by Tommaso di Pietro in the refectory, a fifteenth-century cloister and a sixteenth-century chapter hall. The Orto di Gosto contains a late seventeenth-century Scala Santa modelled on the Lateran staircase in Rome.

Context and history

The monastery was founded by Cardinal Niccolò Albertini da Prato. In the late eighteenth century Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo converted the suppressed convent into a conservatory for young women; its bell tower dates to 1760. The complex continued as an educational institution, preserving its church and monastic rooms through ongoing use.