Nuns and Nunneries in Renaissance Florence

An analysis of Renaissance Florentine convents and their influence on the city's social, economic, and political history.

The 15th century was a time of dramatic and decisive change for nuns and nunneries in Florence. That century saw the city's convents evolve from small, semiautonomous communities to large civic institutions. By 1552, roughly one in eight Florentine women lived in a religious community. Historian Sharon T. Strocchia analyzes this stunning growth of female monasticism, rev...