Chiostro di Sant'Andrea della Porta

At the beginning of the eleventh century the monastery of St. Andrew was built next to the crossing east of Porta Soprana; the first news on the Romanesque church date back, in fact, to 1109 and the dedication to the Apostle Andrew introduced immediately the specific "de Porta". Monastery and church underwent a series of changes since the beginning of '500 until 1620, while the entire complex reached the final arrangement only at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1810 the monastery was used as a prison until the beginning of the `900 when it was demolished to create Via Dante. The actions of protection began after the declaration of public utility (1890) through the relief edited by Alfredo D'Andrade, head of the Regional Office for the Preservation of Monuments. The restoration project opted for the preservation of the monument to its original position, providing it with a garden around; clause was inserted in the contract of sale of the complex to the City. In 1905 the cloister, now dismantled, was placed in St. Augustine before and in Villetta Di Negro then, pending a decision on its location. Many years later, D'Andrade attempted to bring attention to the cloister, but the reconstruction was decided only in 1922, in a cultural climate changed completely. The cloister, rebuilt on the land surrounding the house of Columbus, as a garden along with the near Porta Soprana, would give rise to an area dedicated to the celebration of the nation's memories.