Monastery and Church of San Niccolo’

The monastic complex was built between 1323 and 1328 on the order of Cardinal Niccolo’ da Prato. During the course of the centuries, the church underwent various modifications including the transformation into a conservatory at the end of the 18th century. Visitors enter the church through an interesting 14th century door. The interior boasts a beautiful main altar in colored marble which features an Assumption by Alessandro Gherardini and a Renaissance tabernacle by Francesco Ferrucci. There are several frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries. The sacristy houses an elaborate lavabo from the della Robbia school and a 15th century wooden crucifix. The monastery’s refractory houses frescoes by Tommaso di Pietro, a cloister from the 15th century, the 1500s Sala del Capitolo and the Cappella della Spina. The Orto di Gosto boasts the Scala Santa, one of the few examples in Italy modelled after Saint John in Lateran in Rome—a structure formed by a chapel accessible by a frontal staircase.