Monastero di Santa Caterina

In the heart of the historic center of Borgo San Lorenzo lies the Monastery of Santa Caterina, which still preserves a remarkable artistic and documentary heritage, survived the Napoleonic (1808) and post-unitary (1866) suppressions. This heritage has been devoutly guarded by the Dominican nuns who lived there in seclusion until 1971. Its history dates back exactly five centuries ago, when on January 20, 1516, a papal bull by Leo X authorized its foundation, accepting the request of the parish priest Damiano Manti from Imola, who a month earlier had submitted the supplication to the pope, accompanied by local authorities and a group of women eager to become nuns. Up to that moment, there was no female religious institute in the Mugello area, and the parish priest Manti decided to associate the monastery with the parish to ensure its maintenance and care, especially of a church that had long been neglected. Two nuns from the Monastery of Santa Caterina in Florence were appointed to form the first novices. Two years later, the first nuns were able to solemnly profess the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to the rule of the Dominican Order. The monastic complex was not built from scratch but was the result of the restructuring of pre-existing buildings, including the rectory. With the acquisition of the former church of Sant'Agnese, the parish priest also obtained the liberation of the seat of the Company of the Virgin Assumed into Heaven, which owned a lodge with a small garden. Furthermore, he purchased the house of "Beriolo" for 300 scudi and, later, a garden donated by Filippo di Francesco di Bonizo. In 1520, the Municipality of Florence ceded the moat, allowing the grounds to be extended to the castle walls. With contributions from a special plenary indulgence and the dowries of the first nuns, in a few years, the dormitory cells, kitchens, refectory, chapter house, parlour, and novices' school were built. An airy cloister, with a well and a loggia, allowed direct access to the church, where a raised choir was built, enabling the nuns to attend sacred functions without being seen by the faithful. In 1539, Pope Paul III granted the Dominican nuns the right to elect the parish priest, reserving only the subsequent approval to the Archbishop of Florence. In 1543, the administration of the parish and its assets passed to the trustees of the nuns, who held it until the Napoleonic suppression when the conventual complex was transformed into a barracks, prison, saltpeter factory, and hospice for poor tenants. During the French occupation, the parish priest Giovanni Gualberto Catani enlarged the rectory and the sacristy, destroying the choir to free the right nave of the church. With the return of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1818, the monastery gradually resumed its normal life, distinguishing itself from other convents that were not reinstated. During this period, the "winter choir" and a large "choir" were built, separated by a grille, with a new chapel, the "little church," with an entrance from outside the convent. To the left of the chapel, the sacristy and a room for spiritual exercises were added. To the right, a small chapel was dedicated to the memory of the venerable Sister Reginalda, who died in 1817, one of the most venerated nuns of the monastery, along with Sister Maria Sperandio Becherini. The sixteenth-century architecture of the monastery underwent several modifications over the centuries but retained its original imprint, visible in the columns of the portico, the leaf capitals, and the leafy corbels of the refectory vestibule. The monastery was enriched thanks to numerous bequests and the monastic vows of wealthy young women, which allowed the acquisition of houses, lands, and woods located in various locations such as Borgo San Lorenzo, San Giovanni Maggiore, Montefloscoli, and Luco. These properties were rented out or sharecropped, and among the estates, those of Poggio, Bosso, Castellina, Fondaccio, Larciano, and Pagliano are remembered. The substantial revenues allowed the acquisition of valuable works of art, such as the panel by Cesare Velli and the canvases by Matteo Rosselli and Jacopo Vignali, which still adorn the altars of the parish church. Among the frescoes, a Last Supper painted in the refectory, now disappeared, stands out, as well as a lunette depicting the Madonna and Child among saints, located in the left nave of the parish church. Furthermore, the monastery houses numerous restored paintings of great value, such as the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine, created by the Mannerist painter Michele Tosini in 1564, now in the convent's small church. In addition to the frescoes, the monastery boasts a ceramic lunette produced by the Chini Manufacture, depicting three cherubs around the cross, and another Robbian ceramic lunette, located above the entrance of the chapel, celebrating the meeting of Saint Francis and Saint Dominic. The large choir hosts works such as an Annunciation from the second half of the sixteenth century, painted by Michele Tosini's workshop, and canvases depicting the Passion of Christ, including the Flagellation and the Crowning with Thorns, dating back to the seventeenth century. Therefore, the Monastery of Santa Caterina is a place of great historical, religious, and cultural significance for the community of Borgo San Lorenzo, which, if restored and made accessible, will convey part of its rich artistic and spiritual heritage, testifying to the strong bond between the Dominican tradition and the history of the village.

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