Starting from the early years of the sixteenth century, the need to strengthen the presence of female monastic orders was increasingly felt, so the Carmelite nuns settled in the monastery of San Marco le Vergini, the first Benedictine monastery dedicated to S. Maria del Popolo, and a third of Poor Clare nuns. The largest group is those of the Benedictine nuns whose number of convents is three. To the first group was added in 1598 a second who settled in the palace of Baron Capodarso of the Leto house under the title of S. Michele Arcangelo, and in 1600, a third on the initiative of Baron Niccolò Collotorto who made his heritage available by creating the largest Benedictine monastery in terms of size and location. In reality this last monastery is documented by a notarial deed dated 14 October 1383, with which the abbess of the monastery sells a house located in the parish of San Giorgio to finance the restoration works. Added to these are the numerous notarial deeds on the revenues of the fifteenth-century monastery. Therefore it seems reasonable to think that Baron Collotorto had financed the renovation and expansion of the ancient monastery by placing his noble coats of arms within the cloister. The reconstruction of the ancient building would be confirmed with the discovery of some arches below the floor level which would belong to the older building. At the end of the 19th century, all the monastic premises and the church next to it were handed over to the Military Administration with the aim of establishing a garrison there. The building thus became a depot for artillery and mules, the floor of the church was torn up and replaced by cobblestones, the vault and altars were demolished, while the paintings and sacred materials purchased by the Mother Church were distributed among the other churches. In the 20th century it was the Congregation of Charity which then administered the Civic Hospital and the Orphanage that obtained the restitution of the premises. Thanks to the work of a priest and some faithful, the church was rebuilt and reopened, becoming the seat of the Church of San Giuseppe in 1929. The church has a single nave. The main altar features the statuary group of the Holy Family, the work of a certain Greca master from Enna who lived at the beginning of the 18th century. The silver frontal placed laterally and protected by glass probably dating back to the origins of the church is interesting. Of particular interest is the painting the "Deposition" by the Palermo painter Antonio Mercurio who lived in the 18th century.
Attualmente una parte del palazzo ospita un gruppo di Carmelitani mentre una seconda porzione abbandonata ormai da anni presenza numerosi segni di degrado.
Santa Chiara e collegio gesuitico
In the current Colajanni square stands the Church of Santa Chiara including the ancient Jesuit college. It was the seat of the Society of Jesus until 1767, the year in which the Jesuits were expelled from Sicily, and since then entrusted to the Poor Clares. The last transformation of the church dates back to the post-World War II period when it became a Shrine for the Fallen. The convent became home to both the elementary schools and the high school. The Church is accessed by a staircase which leads into a single nave room in which there are wrought iron goose breasts added when it became the church of the Poor Clares to allow the nuns to access liturgical functions without directly participating. The valuable majolica floor dating back to 1852 features a depiction of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople and a steamboat probably painted in memory of the Enna boat. The painting of the "Madonna delle Grazie" attributed to Giuseppe Salerno known as Zoppo di Gangi is valuable.
Statua di Napoleone Colajanni
In the square commonly known as Santa Chiara for the church of the same name that stands there, today dedicated to Napoleone Colajanni, you can admire a bronze monument portraying him by the sculptor Ximenes. Napoleone Colajanni, sociologist and politician, full professor of statistics at the University of Naples, was born on 27 April 1847. At the age of 15 he followed Garibaldi and was taken prisoner in Aspromonte and freed, he returned to follow Garibaldi and took part in the war against 'Austria and fighting at Bezzecca. For his republican ideas he had various trials and spent several months in prison. As a journalist he collaborated with the republican magazine Nel Dovere and in the Fascio della Democracy, in Palermo he founded and directed the Island, he collaborated with Italian and foreign magazines and newspapers and directed his own popular magazine. He was elected deputy in 1899 in the multi-member constituency of Caltanissetta and then in the single-member constituency of Castrogiovanni. In this regard, we remember his parliamentary battles against the profiteering of the Roman Bank, the battles against Crispi at the time of the Fasci, the defense of the wheat duty, the repeated defense of the South, etc. He is the author of numerous writings that reveal a profound political, economic and social knowledge, among which we remember Criminal Sociology, Banking and Parliament, Colonial Politics etc.
In addition to the bronze monument that stands out in the center of the square, the city's high school and the street on which his birthplace stands are dedicated to the famous character.
VIDEO: Il palazzo delle Benedettine e la Statua di Napoleone Colajanni