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Biblioteca Giuridica Universitaria | University’s Law Library 147
delle monache; mentre la soppressione del monastero della Madonna Leccio, the various courtyards like the Meridiana one, now Banano, were
nel 1783 vide quella quarantina di religiose trovar ricovero nel San increasing. Moreover, the vast garden was confined towards Via Caselle,
Paolo. Infine, nel 1798, con l’avvento dell’esercito napoleonico, il mo- so called because of the communal squares that housed soldiers from
nastero fu soppresso, la sua struttura trasformata in caserma e la chiesa 1520. The closeness to the soldiers caused many problems for the nuns,
in magazzino di legname. who had to increase the height of the wall several times, as in 1647.
th
Con la Restaurazione austro-estense, la chiesa fu riconsacrata il 16 no- The 17 century saw a lot of important changes. As a matter of fact, the
vembre 1816, mentre il monastero accolse l’Educandato delle Povere construction of the bell tower and the internal Church of the nuns were
Zitelle, detto “delle Putte della Duchessa” perché sotto la protezione carried out at the beginning of the century, and in 1653 the re-qualifica-
di Maria Beatrice Vittoria di Savoia, consorte del duca Francesco IV tion of the external church started. In 1652 the sacristy was enlarged by
d’Austria-Este. Un piccolo monumento murato in una parete dell’atrio including a portion of the northern pathway, on Camatta. Also, the fresco
su via Selmi ricorda la memoria dell’illustre benefattrice. Realizzato nel depicting The Eternal Father Blessing seems to date back to the middle
1842 da Luigi Mainoni (1804-1863), lo scultore forse più importante del of the century. Together with the fresco, also the terraqueous Globe
ducato austro-estense, raffigura la duchessa in un rilievo inscritto in un within a garland of fruits inscribed in a coffered perspective quadrature
dates back to those years. The Globe was found on the ground floor of
the eastern area of the Cortile del Leccio, located in the vault of what was
probably chapel. It was the work of a decent painter who was inspired
1
by the style of the Bolognese quadraturisti Agostino Mitelli and Angelo
Michele Colonna. Among other things, they worked in the Ducal Palace
of Sassuolo between 1646 and 1647. The century ended in 1700 with
the construction of the Cappella della Madonna della Scala.
th
The 18 century recorded major changes. As a matter of fact, the Este
policy of reducing the number of parishes determined the elimination
in 1774 of San Paolo, therefore the external church passed under the
competence of the nuns. In addition, the suppression of the convent of
Our Lady in 1783 led forty religious women to ask for shelter in San
Paolo. In 1798, with the advent of the Napoleonic army, the monastery
was finally suppressed, its structure was transformed into a barracks and
the church in a lumber warehouse.
During the Austro-Este Restoration, the church was sanctified again
1 Painters of illusionistic architecture
