The monastery of San Nicolao, also called San Nicolò, stood in Sesto San Giovanni and dated from the end of the eleventh century. It was a Cistercian nunnery and depended, like other churches of Sesto, on the basilica of San Giovanni in Monza.
What to see
In the twelfth century the nuns fought a hard battle against the tithes imposed by the church of Monza. In 1511 Pope Julius II suppressed the convent and merged it with the monastery of the Santissima Annunziata in Milan, run by the Lateran canonesses. In 1797, under the Cisalpine Republic, Napoleon ordered its sale, which took place in 1802.
Over the centuries the building suffered serious damage, through neglect and several changes of use. In 1962 the small Romanesque church that was part of the complex was demolished; in 2010 the masonry still standing was the object of restoration and redevelopment, and the sources speak of the remains of the monastery coming back to light.
Visiting
The monastery is in Sesto San Giovanni. What remains of the original structures is the restored masonry; the sources consulted do not say whether the complex can be visited or at what hours, so it is best to ask the Comune di Sesto San Giovanni before going.
Our editors' tip
For many centuries popular tradition attributed the foundation of the monastery to Saint Marcellina, sister of Saint Ambrose: it is a tradition, to be told as such, not a documented fact.
