The Convent of Santa Chiara

The Convent of Santa Chiara has origins that predate the very city of L’Aquila. It was built around the Church of Santa Maria d’Aquili, founded in 1195 by nuns from several monasteries in the surrounding countryside. In 1333, it changed its name to Santa Chiara.

The foundation of the Convent of Saints Francis and Clare is intertwined with the foundation of the city of L’Aquila itself, and the monastic complex stands as a backdrop and witness to centuries of the city’s events and history. Over the ages, it has seen the succession of religious and lay people, moving from the sacredness of monastic life to the brutality of conflicts, to destruction by earthquakes, and each time to the dawn of a new rebirth.