Convento di S.Domenico (ex)

The Convento di San Domenico presents a sober, orderly face to the street. Its main facade is built on a base of regular stone blocks, with eight ground-floor openings and another eight above, each with a balcony, separated by a horizontal stringcourse. This is a building that does not need to shout.

The real drama begins inside. Enter from Via Ambrosi through a series of rooms covered by barrel vaults, and you emerge into the cloister. It is a perfect square, roofed by cross vaults, and rises through three storeys of round arches, stone balconies and windows. At its centre sits an octagonal well-head, a quiet focal point. The paving is of basole, those broad, dark stone slabs typical of the region.

This is a place designed for contemplation and measured movement, a rhythm of arch, vault and courtyard that has not changed for centuries.

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