Churches and Monasteries

Next to walls and towers, churches and monasteries dominated the medieval city. Large churches, several chapels, three monasteries and a range of large estates which were owned by religious communities had a marked effect on both the social and economic life in the city.

At the end of the Middle Ages, the twin pillars of the medieval world, the pope and the church, were substantially weakened. The papal schism, failed reforms and the secularisation of the Holy See and the clergy strengthened popular piety prior to Reformation leading to the division of the church.

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