The Church of Santa Chiara and the monastery of are dedicated to holy of Assisi, a collaborator of St. Francis and foundress of the Clarisse nuns of the cloister, who run it. The saint was canonized in 1255 in Anagni by Pope Alexander IV and is the patron saint of television and telecommunications.
The building is located in the district of Anagni called Piscine, because here was a source of water and the ancient Roman baths, and it was entrusted to the Poor Clares after the damage caused by the Spaniards to their former convent of San Pietro in Vineis.
Previously the building was owned by the parish of San Pancrazio but the Poor Clares began to expand and develop it thanks to the numerous legacies.
In 1720 the convent already had a large garden and in 1730 the church was built for their exclusive use. The project by the Portuguese architect Manuel Rodriguezdos Santos is in Baroque style with an elliptical plan.
The main entrance and altar face along the minor axis of the ellipse, while on the major axis there are two chapels, one dedicated to Saints Anthony of Padua and Luigi Gonzaga and the other to the Holy Family.
Since it is a cloistered convent, the nuns follow the mass from a special section separated from the church by an elegant iron grate.
A small Hermitage of Santa Chiara was created that is dedicated to meditation and welcomes outsiders. According to the Santa Chiara rule, the nuns work and prepare embroidery, sweets and jams that they sell.
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