Monastero di San Francesco
Via San Rocco 35
36057 Arcugnano VI Italy
The Story of the Monastero
Nestled in the Colli Berici, the Monastero traces its origins to the early 13th century.
Founded in 1214 as the "Monastero di Longare," it was one of the earliest monasteries inspired by the Franciscan spirituality of Clare of Assisi and to a small but religiously significant community of women known as the Humiliated Damianities.
Within these walls, the Damianites lived a life of prayer, agriculture, textile production (mainly wool), craftwork and hospitality to travelers. Unlike isolated monastic orders, the Damianites were integrated into society. They worked, traded and contributed to the economic life of the region while maintaining a disciplined spiritual life.
In the mid-13th century, the community was transferred to Vicenza, and the monastery began its long transformation through the centuries, evolving from sacred enclosure to rural estate, and finally into the refined country villa and chapel that stand today.
The Chapel
Though its purpose has changed, its spirit remains.
The ancient chapel still watches over the grounds, the stones still hold centuries of stories, and what was once a place of vows to faith it's now a place of vows to love.
At the Monastero, eight centuries of history are not kept in the past, they are embraced and honored, shaping the present and living on with every new chapter.
