The convent at San Cosimato has a unique history of artistic patronage during the 15th and 16th centuries. During this period, the sisters at the convent seemed to behave less like active buyers and commissioners of works of art, but more like…

In the middle of the 15th century, each of the Roman Franciscan convents (San Cosimato, San Lorenzo in Panisperna, and San Silvestro in Capite) were reformed and re-staffed with nuns from Observant Clarissan convents in Perugia. They also expanded…

Santa Maria in Aracoeli, or “Saint Mary in the Altar of the Sky,” is an incredibly important church that remains a major cultural, civic, and religious monument to this day. Situated on the Campidoglio, the governmental center of 13th and 14th…

San Silvestro in Capite is a church with a rich legacy in Rome before it became the home of the Franciscans and the object of Colonna patronage. A Dominican convent in the 13th century, it served as the base for rent collection for the church’s…

According to legend, San Lorenzo in Panisperna is located on the spot where the martyr St. Lawrence of Rome was grilled to death. It then became a moderately successful pilgrimage church due to the presence of his relics. Much of the medieval art and…

San Francesco a Ripa, consecrated in 1601, succeeded San Biagio, which although no longer visible, is important to early Franciscan history in Rome. Founded in the 10th century by the Benedictines, Biagio functioned as a hospital and hospice for the…

Near the Piazza S. Cosimato, a medieval portico juts out from the sides of a nondescript building. The portico leads to the outdoor atrium of the church of San Cosimato, a part of the former Monastery of San Cosimato. It began as a Benedictine house…

According to legend, San Lorenzo in Panisperna is located on the spot where the martyr St. Lawrence of Rome was grilled to death. It was likely constructed at the beginning of the fourth century Constantine’s reign, although records of the church are…

Founded in the 10th century by the Benedictines, the San Biagio Hospice was built near the edge of the Roman city wall. It was a part of the San Cosimato Monastery complex during the Benedictine rule (the two are separated by only 250 meters). San…

Near the Piazza S. Cosimato, a medieval portico juts out from the sides of a nondescript building. The portico leads to the outdoor atrium of the church of San Cosimato, a part of the former Monastery of San. Cosimato. It began as a Benedictine house…