Caravaggio

The monastery complex is named after the saint who, on his short stay in town in 1419, managed to have the people of Caravaggio and the people of Treviglio, who were long-time foes, come to an understanding. The complex including an adjoining church, a porticoed cloister and other buildings was built to commemorate the episode approximately 70 years later, at the end of the 1400s. The monastery complex overlooks viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, at short distance from the historic centre.

A great many structural modifications, adjustments and transfers of ownership characterized the ancient monastery’s history.
In the 1970s, the complex was converted to Caravaggio Civic and Cultural Centre. The ancient scriptorium, or the room devoted to the writing and copying of manuscripts, and the friars’ cells house today a civic library named after Father Felice Banfi, whereas the ancient refectory serves as auditorium and temporary exhibitions hall. Other rooms have been made available to local voluntary associations for gathering and another part of the complex houses the Dr. Eng. Ottorino Zibetti Naval Museum.