Discover the beauty of the church of San Sigismondo, in Largo Bianca Maria Visconti in Cremona, second in importance only to the majestic Cathedral. Visit some spaces of the adjoining monastic complex – the choir, the cloister and the refectory, with artistic works of great value – occupied today by the Dominican nuns who live in seclusion. Being able to participate in morning Mass with the same nuns and pray vespers together with them.
This is the program of the “open day” of San Sigismodo which is held as per tradition on Wednesday 1st May, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (the monastery is dedicated to Saint Joseph, the other open day is the third Sunday of September, commemoration of the dedication of the church).
Opening hours: 9am-10.30am and 2pm-5.30pm. Celebrations with the community: Mass at 11am and Vespers at 6pm.
Access to the monastery is free. Any guided tours will be carried out by tourist guides made available free of charge by the “Friends of the Monastery of S. Sigismondo” association. Volunteers will be present to welcome and also the “housewives of S. Sigismondo” with a table of desserts for the guests.
Dominican nuns of San Sigismondo – diocesicremona.it
History and characteristics
The church of San Sigismondo and the monastery were commissioned by Bianca Maria Visconti (1425-1468) to commemorate her marriage to Francesco Sforza and to give the city of Cremona the presence of a praying community: the Hermit monks of San Girolamo dell’Osservanza , which remained until the Napoleonic suppressions of 1798. The church was founded on 20 June 1463 and the last frescoes date back to the 18th century. Among the artists who worked there: Camillo Bocaccino, Giulio Campi, Bernardino Campi, Domenico and Gabriele Capra, Paolo and Giuseppe Sacca, Altobello Melone.
Below the choir and the presbytery is the hypogeum (cemetery) of the Gerolomini monks. Here the praise of the pilgrim church – today the Dimenica nuns – and that of the triumphant church, which eternally and incessantly sings before the throne of God and which is depicted in the vault fresco “Glory of Paradise” painted by Bernardino Campi with a theory of saints and blessed arranged in a garland around the Eternal.
By accessing the cloister you can admire the bell tower which was restored a few years ago. Entering the refectory you find yourself in front of the Last Supper frescoed in 1508 by Tommaso Aleni from Cremona and by Giovan Battista Natali with scenes taken from the Apocalypse of Saint John.
Saint Sigismund, to whom the church is named, was king of the Burgundians in the 6th century. Educated in Arianism, he converted to Catholicism and founded a monastery in Agauno (Switzerland) in 515 near the tomb of the martyr Maurice and his companions. In 2024 we celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of his martyrdom.
The San Sigismondo complex had become a parish church. In 2007, with the arrival of the Dominican nuns, the parish (in existence since 1774) was suppressed and on 6 January 2008 the papal cloister was placed.
the monastic choir – Monastery of San Sigismondo
«We did not come into seclusion out of fear of the world, but out of love… it is because of Christ that we remain within these walls» the Dominican nuns say of themselves, «love asks us to love and accept the ruptures that the Baptism received demands. All committed Christians, be they spouses or businessmen and women, experience breakups, one different from the other, but no less costly. What love asked of us is to enter the monastery to direct the desire of our soul only to the Lord and to give our lives for the salvation of our brothers scattered throughout the world.
We, by vocation, do not have apostolic works. Our first preaching is born from the silence of solitude inhabited by the presence of God. In this silence, the choral prayer, the Divine Office, is raised several times a day, with which we present to God the needs of the entire world and of each individual particular person. The Divine Office and the celebration of the Eucharist are the fulcrum and soul of our consecrated life and for this reason we willingly share them with the faithful who attend our church.
We cloistered nuns are not of the world, but we are not outside the world. Love for God opens our hearts to the needs of all our brothers who knock on our door every day to have someone to talk to, discuss, vent and receive words of comfort and hope.
We live leaning towards God not leading a hermitic life, but in a community. We share our material and spiritual goods, we compete in esteem for each other and we make ourselves available for mutual service, carrying each other’s burdens.
We meet twice a day to share the hardships and joys of the day in brotherhood.
It is our commitment to nourish our faith through study, so dear to Saint Dominic and a fundamental point in formation in Dominican life. The nun’s study is not at the service of preaching, as for the Friars, but of a more intimate and profound union with God.
Our day does not only unfold between prayer, common life and study, but an important role is played by work. Be it intellectual, such as writing articles for some magazines or the spiritual welcome of groups that ask for testimony and a moment of discussion with a nun; be it material such as mending, sewing, sacristy work for parishes”.
