This monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena al Cerchio (or Circo) hosted the Humiliati order, founded during the 12th century by devout nonreligious people who wanted to live in community and follow apostolic principles. It is also called “Circo”, that means circus, because it was built in the ancient Roman Circus area.
The Monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena was suppressed in 1810. After unpleasant historical events, Carla and Guido Uccelli bought it in 1914. They were the far-sighted founders of the Museum of Science and Technology, they saved the monastery from destruction and perfectly managed its refurbishment.
The family - that still lives there – has perfectly preserved the beautiful and simple 15th century cloister with double porch, once part of the Monastery of the Humiliati of Santa Maria Maddalena al Cerchio. On the back side of the building there are gardens with century-old trees, once part of the monastic vegetable gardens that dominated the area until the 18th century.