A group of Camaldolesian hermits established the monastery of Santa Margherita in Massa Saliarica here that was documented in 1037, when the Emperor Conrad II mentioned it as a hermitage dependent on Sant’ Apollinare in Classe (near Ravenna).  It was mentioned again in this capacity in 1229 in a Bull of Pope Gregory IX.

This later became the site of a Benedictine nunnery that was documented in 1248 (when Benvenuta Cillino of Assisi left 4 solidi to the community) and in 1296 (when the abbess requested a license from the bishop). 

• In 1399, Pope Boniface IX ordered that the community should absorb that of San Bernardo (see Detour II, Walk VI).

• In 1428, Pope Martin V ordered that they should also absorb the merged communities of Santa Maria delle Vergini and Santo Spirito.

The community was under the control of the monks of San Pietro from 1561 until 1703, when it returned to episcopal control.  It was suppressed in 1810.  The church was demolished in 1815, although some substantial ruins survive.

The site passed to the Ospedale Psichiatrico (psychiatric hospital), and some of the buildings that were built at this time are now used by the Università Italiana per Stranieri (University for Foreigners).

Return the Detour I of Walk VI.