| The Conservatorio S.S. Annunziata of the Augustine Nuns hosts a kindergarten and an elementary school whose main entrance faces the piazza Cavour. Prior to becoming a nunnery the building was a "spedale" (ancient word for "hospital") and only in 1528, due to the increased number of nuns, was destined for use as a convent. The church Santissima Annunziata, inside the convent, has another entrance under the vault between Nos. 52 and 54, Via G. da San Giovanni. The small church in late Baroque style consists in a single nave decorated with light stuccoes. Over the high altar there is a painting on canvas by Antonio Puglieschi (1660-1732) representing the Annunciation and probably dating back to the end of the 17th century. Also the fresco of the ceiling and the canvass over the right altar, representing the Virgin with Santa Monica, S. Nicola da Tolentino e St. Augostine, are attributed to the same painter. We should finally mention a tempera on wooden table over the left altar, from the second half of the 15th century, representing a Madonna with Child, attributed to the Maestro of the Nativity of Castello. Visits of the convent and of the church are guided by the Nuns. |