The history of this complex, which arose as a monastic structure within the city walls, unfolds through multiple religious, political and social events, intertwined with the history of the city and which have repeatedly changed the nature of the building until it became the current home of the Treviso High School of Art.
Originally, the architectural complex, characterized by a cloistered layout and a church that no longer exists, constituted the new convent of St. Clare, where the Poor Clare nuns had settled after abandoning the previous building founded in 1232 in an area outside the north of the city walls.
The time of construction remains uncertain: according to some historians it dates back to 1512; in the opinion of others the rebuilding of the monastery predates the Cambrai War and was the result of funding by a noble benefactor, Wenceslaus
Bressa. With the fall of the Serenissima and the start of the Napoleonic suppressions, the monastery of Santa Chiara was also suppressed and closed, its immovable property confiscated, and its movable property dispersed. The structure was therefore ceded to the State Property Office, subjected to fractionation and several changes of use. In fact, for some time, the church was used as a nitro warehouse and, from 1823, as a post office; the monastery, on the other hand, became a station for stagecoaches and private cars, giving rise to a busy area of the city.
When Austrian rule ended, 1868 was a crucial year for the change of use of the former monastery: in fact, Abbot Quirico Turazza rented some of its premises to be used for the female section of his institute for young girls without means. Over the years, the institute became a point of reference for the education of young Trevisan girls and expanded, including parts of the former monastery and others of new construction.
During World War II, particularly in the bombing of 1944, the building suffered extensive damage, but the recovery and consolidation work carried out later allowed the Turazza boarding school to be reborn and continue its activities until 1968. In 1975, the complex became the seat of the Liceo Artistico di Treviso, and the restoration of the building was entrusted to architect Luciano Gemin, a collaborator of the famous Carlo Scarpa. Even today, it is still possible to catch in several rooms of the structure his design interventions of a clear “Scarpa-like” approach.
Since then, this place has continued to fulfill its educational function while promoting multiple cultural initiatives aimed at enhancing the heritage and historical-artistic memory of the city and the territory.
