A place of prayer for the faithful and for the great artistic works that here are preserved: the Convent of Bosco ai Frati located in the locality of Lucigliano, in the municipality of San Piero a Sieve, Mugello, a few kilometers from Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort. This is a very attractive place both for its history and for the collection of religious art housed inside.The Convent of Bosco ai Frati is considered one of the oldest Convent in Tuscany: it was founded, probably, before XI century by the family Ubaldini and was then given, along with much of the forest that surrounds it, to the Franciscan friars, in 1212.
But it was around the beginning of ’400, with Cosimo de ‘Medici, the monastery reached its peak: it was entirely rebuilt and enlarged, with the construction of a tower, the cloister and the Loggia designed by Michelozzo, who also changes the Church of St. Bonaventura which is located inside.
In the same period the Medici gave the convent the famous wooden crucifix attributed to Donatello, now preserved in the Museum of Sacred Art adjacent to the Convent, where you can admire objects like books, prints and vestments.
Over the centuries the Convent of Bosco ai Frati has undergone many changes, due to its closure by Napoleon Bonaparte and then by the first Italian government: the Franciscans returned today after restoration along with the church which houses a painting by Jacopo Ligozzi and a fresco of the Florentine school of the first half of the fifteenth century.
The Convent is now open to the public: for the guests of Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort, to receive information on schedules and reservations, please contact our staff.
