A 15th-century complex, Le Murate, was originally a convent which was physically integrated into the city, yet separated from the historic center of Florence. The nuns living in the building were called “le murate”, which literally means ‘walled-in.’ From 1883 to 1985, it was used as the city’s prison. More recently, in 2004, the famous architect Renzo Piano began remodeling the structures making them contemporary, inviting and public, contrary to their original purposes. The complex has been reclaimed and adapted into a beautiful contemporary nucleus with residential and communal spaces, a literary caffè, art exhibition spaces and studio, plus shops and the RFK Center.
Le Murate complex, Florence
Le Murate, Firenze
This month, you can visit the complex on Sundays in the month of September: 7-21-28 at 11:30 am. Tours last one hour and are free. The visits allow you to learn about the history of the Le Murate complex, from its foundation as a convent for nuns to its transformation into prison in the nineteenth century until 1986, the year of the prison reform. The tour winds through the spaces of the complex to be completed in most locked-down area where the most severely sentenced prisoners were kept, where there is an installation Nuclei (viable) by Valeria Muledda: a “cameo” of artistic production that now characterizes the historic place.
TOURS: September: 7-21-28, 2014 at 11:30 am
For information and reservations, call or email:
T. 055-2768224 or 055-2768558
info@muse.comune.fi.it
www.musefirenze.it/visite-guidate-le-murate/
