The S. Lodovico Institute is run by the Sisters of the Company of Mary Our Lady, a religious order dedicated to education and instruction, founded in 1607 in Bordeaux by Santa Giovanna de Lestonnac.
Since 1834 the Company has been present in Orvieto where it has educated and trained numerous generations of young people. Today the San Lodovico Institute continues its educational mission through the Kindergarten, welcoming children aged 15 months to six years. The main activity currently carried out by the monastery is tourist reception.

It is also an ideal place for conferences, meetings, Spiritual Exercises, meetings, educational, artistic and cultural activities, study courses or even simply for stays in the name of peace and serenity that can be breathed everywhere.

Church of San Lodovico
The Church of San Lodovico was restored in 1746 and completed in 1778. Inside you can admire a canvas by Andrea di Giovanni from 1440, depicting the Massacre of the Innocents and on the high altar a canvas by Girolamo Nebbia from 1637, depicting the Madonna with the Child and St. Lodovico, bishop of Toulouse, surrounded by a glory of angels.

The monastic complex of San Lodovico is located right in the heart of the historic center of Orvieto, in Piazza Ranieri, and overlooks the historic city walls from which it dominates the entire surrounding valley. The building, imposing and elegant, enjoys a strategic and privileged position, it is in fact located in front of the entrance to the escalators and lifts that lead to the Foro Boario (formerly Campo della Fiera), the largest city parking lot.

The Convent and its history
The ancient monastery is of considerable historical and artistic interest, both for the treasures preserved in it and for the particular position in which it is located. Reconstructing the history of the Franciscan complex of San Lodovico is particularly difficult due to the loss of important historical archives.
Some documentary sources attest to its construction after the second half of 1200, when the mendicant orders settled on the Rupe.
The first official document which speaks of the monastery dates back to 1327: it deals with a request by the Poor Clares nuns to receive an annual alms and a votive candle for the feast of the Saint "capituli et conventus monasterii S. Ludovico de Urbevetere".

The entire complex was built on the remains of a settlement typical of the Etruscan period, as evidenced by the underground caves in which there are caves and wells dug into the tuff. Various religious orders, from 1300 onwards, have inhabited the evocative rooms of the monastery; in 1834 it became the owner of the Order of the Religious of Mary Our Lady.

Today the complex is composed of a two-storey body, to which a new area was added in the nineteenth century. The nursery school classrooms, the gym, the conference rooms and the rooms on the upper floor overlook the characteristic and picturesque internal courtyard.
Here originally were the rooms of the "boarders", but today all the spaces are intended for the reception of those who choose the Monastery as a place of prayer, rest or vacation.

The main floor retains elegant coffered ceilings decorated with gilded friezes in the large hall and in the rooms of the ancient theater. Fourteenth and fifteenth century frescoes embellish the rooms on the ground floor; in the refectory room there is a particular Annunciation where a receding angel is represented, representing the client.

The church of S. Lodovico was completed in 1778. Inside you can admire a canvas by Andrea di Giovanni from 1410, depicting the Massacre of the Innocents and on the high altar a canvas by Girolamo Nebbia from 1637, depicting the Madonna and Child and St. Lodovico, bishop of Toulouse, surrounded by a glory of angels.

Religious Institutes are able to offer a particular welcome. The guest becomes part of the community by establishing a relationship of mutual exchange between those who are welcoming and those who are welcomed in a family environment, where human values ​​can be rediscovered.

The Religious House and the San Lodovico Monastery offer hospitality all year round to those who wish to experience a relaxing stay.

The property has single, double and multiple rooms, all with private bathroom and furnished in a sober style.
From all the rooms you can enjoy a suggestive view on the splendid internal courtyard, full of flowers and plants of all kinds, as well as on the wonderful surrounding valley.

The house has a large and comfortable refectory capable of receiving all guests for breakfast.

Accommodation: 70 beds.
Services: chapel, 2 conference rooms for 50 seats, meeting rooms, lift, heating, garden.

A unique opportunity to visit Orvieto, a thousand ways to get to know and admire the city and the surrounding area. A journey back in time to know the countless places where genius and the human spirit have found their highest expression.

USEFUL INFORMATION
This complex is easily accessed from the exit of the former Campo della Fiera car park (Foro Boario).
Adjacent to the large parking lot ex Campo della Fiera (Foro Boario), outside the historic center with direct access by public lift and/or escalators that go directly to Piazza Ranieri.
Proximity (via mechanized route: Funicular and bus) to the railway station.

A conference room with 100 seats and other smaller rooms, with 15 to 50 seats, make the monastery an ideal location for study courses, business seminars, conferences, training, briefings and spiritual meetings.

In fact, in the house, in addition to the church, there is a private chapel open to all the guests of the monastery.

Activities: spiritual exercises and retreats, prayer meetings, training and orientation, study courses, conferences, seminars, student retirement, Study Abroad.

The Etruscans settled in the area where Orvieto stands between the ninth and eighth centuries BC. Around the 6th century BC the city had become an important commercial center known as Velzna, but in 264 BC. it was almost completely razed to the ground and depopulated by the Romans.
We have to wait until the Middle Ages to witness the recovery of Orvieto which, as a free municipality, regained wealth and authority.

The most significant monuments of the city are: Palazzo dei Sette, which became the seat of one of the most important magistracies of the city. Next to the palace is the Torre del Moro, formerly Torre del Papa (47m), from the top of which it was possible to check the surrounding villages and castles. During the restorations carried out in 1866, a mechanical clock and two bells were placed on the tower.

The Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo was built around the mid-1100s in Romanesque-Gothic style as a Papal palace, and was subsequently sold to the Municipality.

Not far away is the splendid Cathedral whose construction, begun in 1290, contributed by some of the greatest artists of the time, who made it a true masterpiece of Umbrian Gothic.
The façade is full of refined bas-reliefs and precious mosaic decorations that make up images inspired by the Holy Scriptures. The interior with three naves finds its maximum expression in the Chapel of San Brizio.

Near the Duomo are the papal palaces, including the gothic Palazzo Soliano.

The area of ​​Orvieto is in fact scattered with archaeological remains, especially from the Etruscan period, the so-called Necropoli del Crocifisso is interesting, a vast complex of Etruscan tombs.

We remember the Well of San Patrizio, built in 1537 as a water reservoir on a project by Antonio da Sangallo, equipped with a double staircase that descends to a depth of 62 meters designed to facilitate the transport of water; the nearby Etruscan temple of Belvedere (5th century BC), in which valuable terracottas have been found.