The Cloistered Areas
during the Ursuline Period
During the time when the Ursuline sisters lived here, a large part of the monastery was reserved for cloistered life and was therefore closed to the public. These spaces, hidden from visitors for centuries, are today some of the most atmospheric places in the whole complex.
The nuns’ cells were arranged along wide corridors on the east and south sides of the cloister, on the upper floors.
The Church of San Giovanni was the centre of the entire network of internal passages and the heart of spiritual life. On the ground floor, on the north side of the church, was the Holy Communion room, connected to the main worship space by a gilded wrought-iron grille that allowed the nuns to take part in the services without being seen. A striking matroneum (upper gallery) ran along the north side on the first floor and led to a confessional that the priest could access without breaking the rules of seclusion.
The matroneum was separated from the church by finely carved wooden screens, which protected the nuns’ privacy during prayer. From these upper spaces, the nuns enjoyed beautiful partial views of the nave, just as they did from the nuns’ choir, located along the front of the Church of San Giovanni.
The choir took the place of an older one previously located in the Tempietto Longobardo, where it had been installed at the end of the 14th century.
On the second floor, again along the north side of the church, there were two small private chapels, lit from above: one chapel was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and the other to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
