Murate, Architectural ensemble in Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

Murate is a monumental complex in Florence occupying about 14,500 m² between Via Ghibellina, Via dell'Agnolo and Viale della Giovine Italia. It includes a 15th-century former monastery, two squares (Piazza delle Murate and Piazza della Madonna della Neve), a street, a large courtyard used for parking and the Cappella della Madonna della Neve. The main building has a light brown stone facade with tall vertical grey metal beams supporting external walkways with thin metal railings on each floor, rectangular windows between the beams and a flat roof with a slight overhang.

The monastery was built between 1439 and 1443 for the Murate nuns, sponsored by Giovanni di Amerigo Benci del Sanna, and enlarged by Lorenzo de' Medici after a fire in 1471. It became a prison in 1883 and closed in 1985. Before Italian Unification, patriots such as Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi served sentences there.

The name "Murate" comes from the women who had themselves walled up near Ponte alle Grazie around 1400. The monastery later housed daughters of families such as the Sforza, Gonzaga and Medici; Caterina de' Medici lived there from 1527 to 1530. The nuns were known for gold and silver embroidery on silk, criticized by Savonarola.

The complex has entrances on Via Ghibellina at numbers 2 to 16, on Via dell'Agnolo at number 1, and from Viale della Giovine Italia. Inside, two squares, Piazza delle Murate to the east and Piazza della Madonna della Neve to the west, are linked by Via delle Vecchie Carceri. Ground floors hold shops, eateries and public offices; upper floors are social housing, so keep to the public areas.

The name "Murate" comes from the women who had themselves walled up in huts on the Ponte Rubaconte in 1400; the first small convent on the bridge pillar was destroyed by the Arno flood of 1557. The complex later held a House of Correction for Males, launched by a sovereign resolution of 1 April 1832 under Grand Duke Leopold II, with the architect Felice Bartolini in charge; a printing press opened there in 1843.