Convento dei padri minori e chiesa di s. Antonio di Padova

Commissioned in 1660 by Scipione Di Giovanni, II Prince of Trecastagni, this building stands out for its essentiality, culminating in a magnificent square cloister supported by worked stone pillars and a vast cistern in the heart of the courtyard. The upper rooms, modified over the years for civil, judicial, and educational purposes, still house the valuable wooden library of the monastic library, now integrated into the "Francesco Ferrara" municipal library. Next to the cloister is the church of Sant'Antonio di Padova. Inside, you can admire an imposing finely carved walnut altar decorated with paintings of the Madonna and various saints. On the walls and ceiling, there are frescoes by Giovanni Lo Coco, as well as the colored marble tomb from 1696 belonging to Prince Domenico III Di Giovanni. The main nave is connected to an adjacent basement space, now empty, which probably served as a crypt, judging by the niches and burial niches present. After the abolition of religious orders in 1866, the monastic structure passed into the hands of the state and underwent various modifications and alterations. Today, it houses the municipal museum.