ex Convento dei Gesuati

The ex Convento dei Gesuati stands beneath San Pietro hill in Verona, incorporated into the archaeological museum beside the Roman Theatre. Its cloister, church, cells, refectories, and terrace preserve several layers of the city’s history. Gesuati monks settled here around 1430, drawn partly by a water source beneath the hill.

They cared for the sick and produced medicines, perfumes, and spirits, earning the nickname “fathers of aquavit.” San Girolamo contains a sixteenth-century wooden ceiling, Verona mosaics, and a 1508 triptych by Giovanni Francesco Caroto. The cloister’s four arcaded loggias display Roman funerary inscriptions and stone steles made by local craftsmen. In the former cells, glass vessels, household bronze gods, and statuettes of protective Lares reveal everyday religious practices. The refectory holds large Roman sculptures, private collections, and a floor mosaic showing fish and big cats within three circles.

Lower levels contain altars, tombstones, architectural fragments, and a Roman drainage work that channelled rainwater towards the Adige. The former oratory adds a Renaissance wooden crucifix, a late Roman mosaic with baskets and vases, and Latin sacred inscriptions. From the terrace, you look across the Roman Theatre towards the Adige River and Ponte Pietra.