Santa Chiara is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church and monastery in the town of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of C ...

, province of Macerata, region of the Marche, Italy. It is located just outside the old city walls, and is best known for housing for during the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Clarissan nun, Saint

Camilla Battista da Varano Camilla Battista da Varano O.S.C., (9 April 1458 – 31 May 1524), from Camerino, Italy, was an Italian princess and a Poor Clare nun and abbess. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Early life Varano was born out of wedlock in C ...

History

The monastery was originally built by 1384, named Santa Maria Nova, and assigned to

Olivetan The Olivetans, formally known as the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet, are a monastic order. They were founded in 1313 and recognised in 1344. They use the Rule of Saint Benedict and are a member of the Benedictine Confederation, where they ar ...

monks, but in 1483, the Lord of Camerino, Giulio Cesare

da Varano The Da Varano was an Italian noble family who had an important role in the medieval and Renaissance history of central Italy, as rulers of Camerino and other lands in the Marche and Umbria. Overview The family is first mentioned in the 13th c ...

refurbished the monastery and assigned it to Clarissan nuns, which his illegitimate daughter, Camilla Battista, had joined. In 1484, along with eight other nuns from the Monastery of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

, Camilla Battista returned to Camerino, to occupy this monastery. She would serve as abbess for several years. However, her father fell afoul of the papacy, and the army of Pope Alexander VI, captured the town and executed her father and three half-brothers. She fled first to

Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest hu ...

, but then to

Atri Atri ( sa, अत्रि) or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing numerous hymns to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the on ...

in the then Kingdom of Naples. Here he learned the sad news of the massacre of his father and three brothers. It was able to return to Camerino only in 1503, after the death of Alexander VI, and the restoration of the properties confiscated from the Varano. Camilla Battista was to return briefly to Camerino, but in 1522 was sent to reorganize the Monastery of

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human pre ...

. The structures in Camerino were nearly razed by the earthquake of 1799, and the nuns were expelled in 1810 by the Napoleonic occupation. They were able to return a decade later. They were again dispossessed in 1866, until regaining ownership in 1896. During the First World War, the monastery was used as a military hospital and the nuns moved to the Monastery of San Salvatore. Presently the a handful of nuns, derived from the Clarissan Monastery of

, are still associated with the monastery. The monastery suffered damage from the earthquake of 1977, and is still undergoing restorations. Camilla Battista was beatified in 1843, and canonized in 2010. The church sponsors a hostel for visitors. The church has the following paintings:Turismo Marche
entry on monastery. *''Santa Chiara, the Blessed Pietro da Mogliano, and Battista da Varano'' (18th century) *''Mary at the Temple'' by an unknown author. *The crypt has the relics of Camilla Battista *Fresco by

Giovanni di Corraduccio Giovanni di Corraduccio, also called Giovanni Mazaforte, (active circa 1404-1437) was an Italian painter of the Gothic style, active mainly in Umbria and Marche. He was born in Foligno. Based on documents, he is thought to have worked in Assisi ...

in refectory

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiara Camerino Roman Catholic churches in Camerino 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy