The foundations of the Benedectine Monastery probably goes back as far as the last decades of the 13th century, although the building had already been reconstructed towards the end of the 15th century, as is clearly demonstrated by the loggia, which can still be seen today in the cloister and the fragments of fresco found in the refectory, work of a Master from Romagna, who painted during the second half of the 15th Century.
The monastery had its greatest period of expansion during the second half of the 17th century, when it took up the whole block as far as the city walls. It was sacked by Napoleonic soldiers and consequently sold, as all religious orders were suppressed by law, later to become lodgings, a police station and an orphanage, in that order.
The whole complex was restored in the 1970s, and designed to be used as a polifunctional cultural centre, apart from the Municipal Art Gallery, the San Biagio Cinema Centre, the Sound Archive and the Corelli Musical Institute have their seats there.
