The primitive 15th century church, built for the Franciscan Tertiaries near the ancient house of the knight Angelo Tancredi, companion of St. Francesco, had the title of St. Stefano Protomartire. In 1570, thanks to the generous legacy from the physician Paolo Buonamici da Aspra, the church was enlarged and renewed as we can see it today, then named after Santa Chiara.

Meanwhile, the cloistered nuns honored the memory of the benefactor by erecting the stone cenotaph that adorns the wall of the Evangelii cornu, near the side altar dedicated to St. Stefano, the former owner of the church. The high altar presents a canvas depicting the Resurrection of Christ in the presence of the Saints of the Order of Friars Minor. At its sides valuable statues dedicated to St. Chiara and St. Elisabetta d’Ungheria. The Civic Museum preserves the plates of the polyptych by Marcantonio di Antoniazzo which once adorned the refectory of the monastery, overlooking the right bank of the Velino river.