Our tannery made a donation to restore the Augustinian Monastery of Santa Cristiana: an investment to preserve our cultural heritage and benefit our local community.
During this difficult year, undermined by the Coronavirus emergency and the consequent crisis, Superior has decided to renew its commitment to the local community and help finance the indoor restoration of the Augustinian Monastery of Santa Cristiana in S. Croce sull’Arno, where our company is based..
Through this donation, our tannery wants to serve the community of S. Croce and spread a message of hope for the future. The restoration work is important not only to preserve this ancient monastery but also to employee local artisans at a time when the job market is particularly tough.
“In this uncertain times, it has been important to focus on new beginnings, to pave the path for a new normal, one where our great artistic and cultural heritage is an integral part. – explains Stefano Caponi, A.D. of Superior. – Since we were not able to convert our tanning production to aid the fight against Covid-19, we thought we’d act on another front, just as important. This donation for the restoration of the Augustinian Monastery has made it possible to preserve the beauty of an important historical place for the local community, giving a sign of hope for the future.”
The renovation focused on the vaulted beams of the monastery, which survived many centuries of history and vicissitudes. Among them, the fire of 1515 that destroyed the church and the archive, the Napoleonic suppression that forced the nuns to abandon the complex, wars, plagues, floods of the river Arno and famine.
Built in 1279 at the behest of Blessed Cristina Menabuoi, in the span of fifteen years the building became a monastery for the Augustinian order. After the suppression of the convents in the 19th century, it was adapted to a girls’ school, the first in the area near S. Croce. Later it housed the local kindergarten, an elementary school, after-school programs and music and language courses, until 1966.
A place linked to the memory of so many generations of locals that went to school here, it is today returned to its community in all its beauty, in part thanks to Superior’s commitment to cultural heritage.
