San Francesco ad pratum magnum

The Church of San Francesco whose main facade was oriented northward and apse southward was built in the 14^th century along the border with pratum magnum that was the trade area in Monza (today Piazza Trento e Trieste). The east side faced the pratum magnum and the west side the cloister and convent. Over time the aisles were extended by adding seven chapels different from one another in style and structure.

In 1784 the convent was closed. Subsequently the building became a hospital for a short while but in 1792 it was moved back to its former location at the San Gerardo hospital and the Franciscan structure as well as the church became an archbishop's seminary.

From 1823 the seminary complex underwent further architectural restoration work that only partially kept the original inside structures (the courtyard and loggia).

In 1937 the Municipality of Monza bought the building and turned it into the high-school "Liceo Zucchi" and the Civic Library. In 1979 during restoration work the original pillars of the Church of San Francesco were found and some pictorial, sculptural and structural fragments are now kept at the entrance of the Liceo and in the attic of the east side.