Benedictine Monastery ---

The complex of the San Benedetto Monastery, which includes the monastery and church, is located just below the Venetian walls, in what was once the borgo of Santo Stefano, today's via S. Alessandro. Santa Maria Novella, originally a Humiliate foundation, passed in the 14th century to the Benedictine nuns of S. Giuliano di Bonate. The Benedictine nuns of Valmarina (documented from 1153) moved from the countryside in the following century, settling slightly below, still along via S. Alessandro (the Rizolo). It is known that in 1448 a small church was erected, dedicated three years later to San Benedetto; architectural traces remain on the side of via S. Alessandro. After 1493 the two Communities merged and the new complex grew rapidly. In 1504 the construction of the new church began; already