Basilica ed ex Monastero Benedettino di San Vitale

Within the medieval walls, the Basilica and former Benedictine Monastery of San Vitale occupies a corner of the city that once held the 'regio domus Augustae', a district notably dense with religious buildings. The monastic complex, with its original perimeter, commanded a vast area hard against the city walls, neatly fitted into the angle formed between Porta Adriana and Porta Serrata.

Much has changed: the defensive wall was demolished, and new buildings rose over parts of the former vegetable gardens. Yet the monastery has managed to preserve its architectural independence, still partly encircled by roads and abutting the surviving sections of the old walls. Remarkably, the surrounding environment retains its original character, contemporary with the convent's growth. It is a place where the bones of the medieval city remain visible, the monastery holding its ground against the encroachments of later centuries, a quiet survivor in a quarter that was always meant for prayer.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.