San Francesco delle Donne church

In the early 13th century this area, known as Conca, was an unwalled rocky terrain with just a few olive groves and vineyards. It was thus mostly given over to agricultural use and sparsely populated although close to the city walls. It was here that, while he was preaching in Perugia, Saint Francis of Assisi established a small hermitage where he and his followers dwelt.

The small monastery was founded in around 1212 and thus constitutes one of the oldest Franciscan settlements in Italy. The title San Francesco delle Donne dates from 1252 when the monastery was ceded by the Franciscans to a community of Benedictine nuns. In 1810 this convent, like many others, was abolished and the deconsecrated church was then turned over to industrial use becoming the Conte Faina spinning mill and later “La Salamandra” a production facility for ceramic artworks until it was acquired to establish the “Giuditta Brozzetti” workshop in 1996.