A place related to Giuseppe Moscati's family is the Order of Saint Clare’s convent, entitled to Santa Maria della Sanità. It is located a short distance from Moscati Family's noble mansion, in S. Lucia of Serino.
It was founded by don Giulio Chiarella, chaplain of Sovrano Ordine di Malta, and it was built in 1607. The life of this convent began following a life “rather angelic than human”. It had a great flowering: it led to religious perfection a large number of nuns and brought up many Christian young people belonging to noble families not only of Irpinia, but also of Naples, Calabria and Sicily. In 1931 the monastic community chose to live according to the Saint Clare’s Rule, returning to a more austere life.
The relationship between the Clarisses and the Moscati family were cordial for centuries: many women in the family were educated by the Clarisses and some of them have worn the Franciscan habit and were also abbesses.
The reception of the Clarisses can still be intensely lived, communicating with them in the parlor, through an iron grate.
- Photos by Elisabetta Lepre (November 2012).
- Locate the item on this Google Map
Bibliography
- A. Lepore, San Giuseppe Moscati e l'affetto per la Valle di Serino, Atripalda (AV) 2010