Modena

Monastery of Saint Euphemia (Monasterio di Sant’Eufemia)

Edited by

Daniele Pascale

Places of worship

Other denominations

Istituti biologici / Ex convento di S.Eufemia / Carceri di Sant'Eufemia / Comparto Sant'Eufemia UniMORE

Founders

Francesco IV

Description

The ancient monastery of Sant’Eufemia, founded in 1071, housed a large community of Benedictine nuns who were particularly popular with the Modenese aristocracy and the ducal court. The spaces of the monastery, enlarged several times, retain very little of the original structures, having been used in the 19th century as barracks and prisons, in a radical transformation project ordered by Francesco IV. The Modenese prisons were housed here until 1991; today, after extensive restoration, the complex houses the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies of the University of Modena.