Monastery of the Santissima Concezione, Montescaglioso

History

The complex was built between the 17th and 18th centuries around an older church dedicated to the Santissima Concezione (Immaculate Conception). It began as a girls’ orphanage, then became a monastery of Benedictine nuns, which remained active until the 1930s.

What to see

• The arched balcony, the loggia that gives the monastery its most recognisable look.
• The cloister and the monastery’s rooms.
• The church of the Santissima Concezione, from which the complex grew.

Useful information

• The 18th-century organ of the Chiesa Madre comes from this monastery.
• Along the corso you reach piazza Roma, with the church of San Rocco, the patron saint celebrated in August.