Built in the 16th century, the monastic complex of Santa Maria a Ripa in Montecatini Alto is defined by its austere design, prominently seen in two cloisters constructed with large pillars. The approach to the church is formed by a stone staircase likely dating back to the Romanesque era, a period also mirrored in the simple gabled facade lightened only by two windows above the entrance portal.
What to see
The interior consists of a single nave beneath groin-vaulted ceilings. Careful restorations revealed 18th-century frescoes along with a pipe organ from the same era, set within an ornate carved, gilded, and painted wooden casing. Further fresco fragments were uncovered in the left chapel, where a late 14th-century panel painting of the Madonna and Child was once housed before being moved into the convent quarters.
Our editors' tip
Take time to notice the architectural contrast between the austere Romanesque exterior elements and the decorative 18th-century gilded woodwork framing the organ inside the nave.