Along the road that surrounds the historic center of Putignano, in one of the most characteristic corners, you will find a small church first named after Sant'Antonio Abate and currently dedicated to Santa Chiara, next to which the building was built in 1600 which housed the Hospital for the sick and the Conservatory for poor and orphaned girls, erected thanks to the contribution of a Putignanese noblewoman belonging to the Confraternity of Death and Prayer. In fact, in memory of her, a bas-relief depicting the Madonna degli Angeli who protects a group of girls with her cloak is still visible on the entrance door of the current monastery; under the inscription "Mater Orphanorum", while above stands a skull, symbol of the Brotherhood.

 

Subsequently, the Hospital and Conservatory moved and the building was then used as a cloistered monastery from 1719, hosting a community of Poor Clares until 1911, when it was donated to the Adorable Crucified Sisters who remained there until 1988.

 

The current structure of the church is from the nineteenth century, consisting of a single space, marked by pillars surmounted by arches and divided into three spans: on the door inside, we read the date 1847. The first span appears slightly lowered and houses, in the space above , the organ and the choir of the sisters; the other two bays, covered with barrel vaults, are decorated with frescoes that evoke the symbolism of the Adorable Crucified Sisters. On the main altar there is a canvas by an unknown artist depicting the Madonna and Child in the center, dressed in an elegant dress with jagged folds, and surrounded by Angels. At her feet, San Francesco and Santa Chiara. Below, a statue of the saint is inserted inside a niche.