I cistercensi del “Cestello” fiorentino, da Borgo Pinti in San Frediano: le “tre chiese” del nuovo complesso conventuale e i progetti di Gherardo Silvani, Pier Francesco Silvani, Giulio Cerruti
Riccardo Spinelli
n 1628, according to the will of the Barberini family, the Cistercian friars of San Frediano al “Cestello” in Borgo Pinti exchanged their convent with the Carmelite nuns of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Borgo San Frediano. This exchange gave birth to a dramatic renewal of the monastery located in Oltrarno, and the building of a brand new church. The architect Gherardo Silvani worked extensively to San Frediano al “Cestello” renovation (both cloisters, the main structures and the first project of the new church are due to his ideas). His son Pier Francesco was responsible for a new project of the church, finally brought to an end by the Roman architect Giulio Cerruti at the end of seventeenth century. Based on a massive archival research, this article sheds new light on the implications of this renovation for the religious, social and artistic history of Florence and Tuscany.