Cloisters
FIFTEENTH-CENTURY
CLOISTER
The cloisters of the Island of San Lorenzo preserve the communal life of the canons of the Chapter, priests who, over the centuries, chose to share these spaces in accordance with the Rule of Saint Augustine.
The fifteenth-century cloister emerged from the expansion of the complex of canonical residences, vertically developed dwellings used by the clergy. The structure incorporated earlier houses and a tower building, now partially identifiable as the Doctorate Hall, a prestigious space within the Chapter Museum that served as the venue for degree ceremonies in law and medicine from 1646 onwards.
To this day, the fifteenth-century cloister still contains residences for private individuals and canons. It is composed of three loggias arranged on different levels and supported by granite columns of a much earlier origin.
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CLOISTER
There are two cloisters within the complex of the Island of San Lorenzo, and both continue to form part of the daily life that animates these spaces.
The eighteenth-century cloister conceals within it the heart of the Etruscan acropolis and encloses the archaeological route that unfolds beneath it. It consists of a porticoed courtyard with two superimposed orders of pillars, where the engraved date 1699, marking the completion of the restoration works, is still visible.
The cloister underwent further alterations during the second half of the nineteenth century, when Gioacchino Pecci, later Pope Leo XIII, was Bishop of the city and commissioned several modifications. From the upper cloister, visitors may access the bell tower and the terrace rising above the Loggia di Braccio overlooking Piazza IV Novembre; one side of the courtyard also houses the entrance to the Chapter Museum.
The first museum collection of 1871, now displayed along the outer wall of the left-hand loggia of the eighteenth-century cloister, was arranged and curated at the request of Luigi Rotelli, a priest of the Cathedral Chapter. The collection consists of stone fragments, including elements belonging to the earlier medieval cathedral.
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