The Convent of San Marco, a jewel in the crown of the Dominican Order and a cradle of the Renaissance, boasts priceless paintings and a rich history reaching back to the Medicis. Photo: Getty Images

A 600-year-old monastery in Florence described as "the centre of the world" is to close as the number of resident friars dwindles to just four.

The Convent of San Marco, a jewel in the crown of the Dominican Order and a cradle of the Renaissance, boasts priceless paintings and a rich history reaching back to the Medicis.

But with so few monks now calling it home, the monastery is to be closed down, highlighting the Catholic Church's inability to recruit enough priests and monks in an age of rising secularism and resistance to celibacy. The shortage is particularly acute in Europe and North America.

"The closure of a historic place like this is an act of cultural and societal suicide," said Bash D'Abramo, the head of Beato Angelico for the Renaissance, a cultural association that is linked to the monastery. "It's shameful. The history of the convent goes back to the Medici family. It's part of the identity of Florence."

The historic monastery has been "suppressed", or closed, by the local head of the Dominicans, with the remaining brothers due to be transferred to another Dominican establishment in Florence, the convent of Santa Maria Novella. The cost of maintaining the monastery was no longer sustainable, said Aldo Tarquini, the provincial head of the Dominican Order. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

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