Convento di San Girolamo

(12th or 13th century) 

The original monastery here, which is variously reported to have belonged to the Benedictines, the Dominicans and the Augustinians, was abandoned in 1413.  In 1465, Cardinal Berardo Eroli received permission from Pope Paul II to restore the church and rebuild the convent for the Observant Franciscans.   He insisted that a group of friars should move here from the Convento di San Paolo, Spoleto, which he had also founded.  The friars were reluctant because the oppulence of San Girolamo was inconsistent with their vocation, but Cardinal Eroli was insistent.  They duly moved here in ca. 1471 and remained until the suppresion of 1860.  Two of the works of art removed from the church and convent at that time (including the Coronation of the Virgin by Ghirlandaio) are now in the the Sala del Consiglio, Palazzo Comunale, and another three are in the Pinacoteca.

The Principe di Valbranca acquired the complex in 1896.  He transformed the convent into a castle, and it is now often referred to as the Castello di San Girolamo.   He also acquired the rose window that is now in the facade of the church from the Castello di Roccasecco, which had once been the home of St Thomas Aquinas. 

The Commune bought the complex in 1975, but it subsequently fell into disrepair.

Return to the walk.