Franciscan Convent

It was founded and subsidized by the Ricci family, who also gave birth to Fra Tommaso, a friar from San Donato who was canonized. In 1652, Pope Innocent

Inside the convent, six monks, four lay people and two priests lived who dedicated themselves to religious, artisanal and agricultural activities. The convent owned approximately 500 hectares of land delimited by surrounding walls which are still visible today in the surroundings of Via Chiaie. In 1808, following the confiscation of the assets of religious bodies by Gioacchino Murat, the Discalced Carmelites were forced to leave the convent which was sold at auction and purchased by the knight Giovanni Tempesta.

The convent church, which dates back to 1300, was dedicated to the Madonna del Carmine and Sant’Antonio only in 1870 and was subsequently purchased by the Confraternity of the Santissimo Rosario and became a parish. In 1872, at the request of some parents and the mayor of the time, a wing of the convent was transformed into an architecture school. In the summer of 1878, Princess Anna Carolina Bonaparte stayed in the convent at the invitation of a well-known coroner of the Kingdom of Naples.

Inside the church, there is a cross-vaulted cloister with partially infilled arches, another tourist attraction not to be missed. The Franciscan Convent of San Donato Val di Comino is a historical testimony of the religious devotion and the artisanal and agricultural tradition of the area, which deserves to be visited and admired.