The Villa San Girolamo, sometimes known as the Church of San Girolamo, is building complex that includes a villa,

olive grove The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

, and former

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

and church located on Via Vecchia Fiesolana in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

History

Built in the 14th century as a hermitage and the seat of the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

of the Hermits of San Girolamo, the Church of San Girolamo came under the ownership of the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

in the 15th century. It was expanded between 1445 and 1451 by Michelozzo at the behest of Cosimo de' Medici along with the neighboring

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

. The complex was then remodeled in the 17th century, though the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

remained unchanged. During the 17th century, the

fell into disuse and ownership was transferred out of the Church and into private hands. It was then annexed by the nearby Villa dei Ricasoli. At the entrance of the building is a portico of three arches supported by columns built by

Matteo Nigetti Matteo Nigetti (ca. 1560/1570 – 1648) was an Italian architect and sculptor. He is an important Baroque architect in Florence. Biography Born in Florence, he was the pupil and assistant of Bernardo Buontalenti, with whom he collaborated on ...

in 1633. Inside is a large fresco by Luigi Sabatelli depicting

Saint Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

(), after which the monastery is named. The main altar was also designed by Nigetti in 1661, where there is a canvas by

Giovanni Domenico Cerrini Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (1609–1681), also called ''Gian Domenico Cerrini'' or ''il Cavalier Perugino'', was a painter of the Baroque period, born in Perugia and active mainly in Rome and influenced in large part by painters of the Bolognese ...

depicting the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

. In the floor are two headstones, one a porphyry medallion of Francesco del Tadda, and the other of the Rucellai family, dating to 1478. San Girolamo became the seat of the Jesuit Superior General and the Jesuit

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

in July 1865. In 1911, Charles Augustus Strong visited Villa San Girolamo and briefly stayed there. He was so impressed by its views of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

that he decided to build Villa Le Balze directly beneath it. From 1889 until around 2005, the villa was run by nuns of the Little Company of Mary, who originally used the villa as a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

and later to provide room and board to

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s, visitors, and students for a small fee. The use of the villa as an inn by the nuns was shut down by the mayor of Fiesole in 1998, who said that the nuns were using it as an unauthorized hotel.

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

's 1992 novel, ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burn ...

'' was set in Villa San Girolamo. For some time, the villa was used as a springtime vacation home by

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish ...

historian

John Lorne Campbell Dr John Lorne Campbell FRSE LLD OBE ( gd, Iain Latharna Caimbeul) (1906–1996) was a Scottish historian, farmer, environmentalist and folklorist, and recognized scholar of Scottish Gaelic literature. Early life According to his biographer, R ...

and his American wife Margaret Fay Shaw, and was where Campbell died.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Authority control Villas in Tuscany Churches in the metropolitan city of Florence Augustinian churches in Italy Former Roman Catholic church buildings Former churches in Italy Buildings and structures in Fiesole 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Augustinian monasteries in Italy Monasteries in Tuscany

History

See also

References

Citations

Sources