The monastic complex of the Poor Clares of St. Lucia is located under the ancient fortress on the edge of the district of the Valleys in a flat area sufficiently far from the floods of the Velino river.

In 1348, at the time of the black plague, the area was occupied by the hospital of St. Sebastiano adjacent to the church of St. Maria delle Valli.

The Poor Clares of St. Lucia were transferred intra mœnia from the primitive extraurban settlement in 1575 and occupied the building that was readapted to the needs of the community, which at the time counted many vocations.

The fact the the religious belonged to the more conspicuous families of the city favored the building of a comfortable monastery, nearby the finely decorated church with a single nave.

The wooden lacunar ceiling bears the Vecchiarelli’s coat of arms, generous protectors of the community to which three grandchildren of Gian Lorenzo Bernini belonged, always prompt to send his best students to ensure elegant furnishings for the church and the monastery.

Due to the post-unification suppression, the complex of St. Lucia was devoted to public schools use.
Consolidated and restored in the 90s of the 20th century, the complex currently houses the Paroniana Municipal Library and the archaeological section of the Civic Museum.