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The church is close to the monastery of the Poor Clares and was built thanks to a bequest of Muzio Cappelletti, a rich merchant of Allerona. The laying of the first stone took place on June 19, 1618 in the presence of Bishop Giacomo Sannesio and the consecration in 1740 by Bishop Giuseppe dei Conti di Marsciano.
The façade is punctuated by two overlapping orders of pilasters of Doric and Tuscan style and culminates with a triangular tympanum. The window in the center of the second order was made following one of the various renovations that the building has undergone over the years. On the lintel of the entrance portal is written “Septus choreis virginum”, a verse of the ancient hymn Iesu corona virginum.
The interior, in Baroque style of Borrominian influence, is covered by a barrel ceiling with nails at the six windows. In the side walls there are six chapels. Above the entablature, rich in stucco decorations, there are the choirs from which the cloistered nuns attended religious services.
In the tympanum above the entrance arch to the apse, in a radiated shield supported by two angels, stands the IHS monogram, triumph of the Name of Jesus.
In the sub-arch of the apse are depicted in relief the four allegories of Chastity, Obedience, Poverty and Contempt of the World and its glories. The walls are rich in stucco decorations and frescoes, attributed to Giovan Maria Colombi, which represent the following episodes of the life of the Madonna and the birth of Christ:
Presentation of Mary in the Temple (bottom left)
Visitation (bottom right)
Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds (upper lunette on the right)
Adoration of magi (upper lunette on the left)
Child Jesus in glory (central vault)
On the main altar in a golden frame is preserved the fragment of fresco depicting the Virgin and Child, dating back to the fifteenth century and of which the author is unknown. The painting is known as “Madonna del Morto vivo”. On the sides of the altar there are the statues of St. Francis and St. Clare.
In the side walls open: The Chapel of the Crucifix, which preserves an eighteenth-century wooden crucifix, restored in the 2000s. In the entablature there is the Allegory of Contrition. The Chapel of Sant’Onofrio with a painting of 1855 depicting the Adoration of the Child with St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. In the entablature there is the Allegory of Charity.
The Altar of S. Francesco di Paola with a painting of 1720 depicting S. Francesco di Paola holding the staff of the hermits. On the entablature is depicted the Allegory of Patience.
The Altar of the Stigmata with an altarpiece by Giovan Maria Colombi in which St. Francis is represented receiving the stigmata. On the entablature appears the Allegory of Meekness.
The Altar of the Nativity of Mary with a canvas painted by Giovan Maria Colombi who depicted the Birth of Mary. On the entablature there is the Allegory of Humility.
