Il primo chiostro del Monastero di Sant’Antonio Abate in Polesine: note sulle vicende costruttive

The present paper aims to investigate the architectural history of the monastery of Sant Antonio Abate in Polesine in Ferrara, located next to the town’s southern walls. The complex founded in the XIII century, represents an architectural emergence of extraordinary interest to understand Ferrara’s architectural culture in relation to medieval and Renaissance construction guidelines. Furthermore the monument allows studying its stylistic and architectural features in relation to the Benedictine’s rules on building conformity. Cross-reading of indirect sources and physical aspect of the monastery architecture allowed setting a number of dating that were vital to understand -at least partially- its building and construction processes. Particular attention is paid to the ancient cloister, core centre of the whole complex and element of great architectural interest for its formal solutions and stratigraphic richness.