If you've stayed in a convent in Rome, Florence, or Venice, would you please tell me which one? I'd appreciate knowing if you thought the convent was well-located for public transportation and sightseeing, and if you enjoyed your stay.

In Rome, Instituto Santa juliano de Falconeri. I have butchered the name but am close. Just off (120 feet) piazza navonna. It is a bathroom down the hall kind of place but does have an elevator.

We enjoyed our stay.
Four years ago, for three people was about 85 euro per night (total).

Big Red, you mean the Istituto Santa Giuliana Falconieri. I haven't stayed there, but it seems to be a well-reviewed and certainly very well-located choice.

I stayed at this convent in Florence:
http://www.fmmfirenze.it
It has very pleasant staff, and a beautiful building. The location right next to the Brancacci Chapel is very nice. Florence can be so, so crowded, but right around this convent it is not crowded. You can walk everywhere, but there are also buses nearby.

I know people have reported on at least two convents in Venice, both which seemed quite nice.

I've stayed in one in Florence. I think it was at Piazza del Carmine. It was nice, but they did have a curfew (we were early risers so no prob. for us).

It was completely silent at meal time, we only heard the other guests from Europe chewing with their mouths open. the food was very good save for one particular meal, and one of the nuns was surly. But it was a good experience overall!

Ralphie's convent is the same one I stayed at. Sadly, I don't think they are offering the meals option any longer, and I did enjoy them. The curfew is 11 PM in the winter, and 11:30 PM in the summer.

I also stayed at Santa Giuliana in Rome. You couldn't ask for a better location, and it has terrific bus connections, including one bus stop practically outside the door. Another just around the corner on Corso Vittorio Emanuale and across the street less than a block away going in the other direction.

Hey Will, that's good to know about the meals at that place. The first time I stayed there they had free parking inside the gated courtyard, but they'd done away with that the second time I stayed there.

Re: Venice

Never stayed in a convent (Venice or anywhere) but I read recently on Easyjet's inflight magazine that if you are in trouble, there is a convent that can provide a bed free of charge. I think it was San Francesco della Vigna in Castello. Venice is small so its location is not a big problem. I would imagine they wouldn't take a reservation though ;-) and don't expect a service like real hotels. A bed and maybe a breakfast, that's all. I have also read about a "hotel" convent in Venice.

With any convent with a reasonable reputation in a major city, you will generally have to book far in advance to get a room. With the Florence convent I mentioned, my neighbor was interested, but six months in advance, the rooms were filled.

Here are two recommendations:

In Rome:
I stayed at Istituto Santa Giuliana in the spring of 2005. The location, near Piazza Navona, was perfect as was the welcome our group received there. Sister Kathryn, born in the US, is a total gem. You don't have to be Catholic to stay there. There may be a curfew, but since they've hired a man to sit at the desk at night, you may be able to stay out as late as you want.

The rooms are spartan, but clean. There is a sink and bidet in each room. The shower and toilet are in the hall, but there are several on each floor and there was never a problem with being able to use one whenever I wanted.

Here's the contact info:
Instituto Santa Giulianna Falconieri
Via Calasanzio, 1
00186 Roma, Italy
tel: 06/68803344
fax: 06/6871471
email: [email protected]

In Florence:
Instituto Oblate dell'Assunzione
Borgo Pinti, 15, Florence
Phone: 055.248.0582; Fax: 055.234.6291
I've stayed here twice.

Type the name of each convent into the search box at the top of the page, and many relevant posts will appear from the archives about both.

Betsy, I hope you see this, because I believe I've corrected your information on several other threads. All rooms at Santa Giuliana do NOT have a sink and bidet in the room. I stayed in a single room that did not have them. But as I said above, it's a great place to stay and a wonderful location.

I stand corrected. Thanks, Susan.

I'd rather have my teenage girls stay in a convent than a hostel, I think. Spartan is fine.

I stayed at the same convent in Florence as WillTravel. It's called Santo Nome di Gesu, and is in the Oltrarno district (Across the Arno from the Centro Storico. There are easy bus connections to the Train Station and the Ponte Vecchio.
It has a nice garden and a good breakfast. We were given a large room with a frescoed ceiling and the interior of the building is beautiful.

Hi

My family,including three daughters stayed in convents round Italy, although it was at least 3-4 years ago. Breakfasts were usually included. In some you can also have dinner. You are welcome to participate in chapel services but are not required to do so but when we did it was a lovely peaceful time in the hectic schedule of travel and sightseeing. In some convents there are curfews usually around 11.30 pm but that was fine for us.

Here is a sample you may want to investigate but also see below:

Rome:
Fraterna Domus via Mont Brianzo,62

Nostra Signora di Lourdes, via Sistina,113 ( there used to be a curfew at 10.30 pm)

San Giuseppe di Cluny -near the Collosseum

There is a great book titled Bed and Blessings A guide to Convents and Monasteries ... by June and Anne Walsh

See also www.santasusanna.org - this is a website ran by Father Greg of that church in Rome; when you click on Coming to Rome you will find a list of convents and their descriptions

See also www.monasterystays.com

Nostra Signora di Lourdes (Rome): My favorite things about this convent were the location (near Piazza Spagna) and being woken up by the nuns who sing gregorian chants at mass very early in the morning.

Villa Agape (Florence): My favorite things were also the location (10 minute walk from San Miniato al Monte) and the excellent, homemade 3 course dinner with a bottle of wine included they offer for 20 Euros.

Casa Cardinal Piazza (Venice): My favorite things were also the location (next to Madonna dell'Orto) and the lovely garden.

Casa Caburlotto (Venice): I'm not so crazy about this convent because of the location (Santa Croce) and the convent itself (it's a bit messy), but the nuns are very charming and warm.