Chiesa e Convento di San Domenico

The Church and Convent of San Domenico in Sulmona began as a Dominican foundation in the late thirteenth century. Its Baroque church façade and the convent's surviving arches and vaulted corridors preserve traces of a complex repeatedly altered by earthquakes and changing civic uses.

Why it matters

Founded under Angevin patronage, San Domenico became an important religious and educational centre within Sulmona's medieval walls. Its library was renowned, and books from the collection entered the city's civic library after the suppression of the Dominican order. The complex's history also reflects the transformation of monastic buildings into public institutions.

What to notice

The church's present façade reflects rebuilding after earthquakes, while the interior retains a three-aisled plan divided by round arches on substantial pillars. The convent preserves a sequence of stone arches, cross-vaulted corridors and a deep circular well. Paintings and sculptures once associated with the church are now displayed in Sulmona's Civic and Diocesan Cultural Pole of Santa Chiara.

Context and history

The Dominicans founded the church in 1280 and established the convent about a decade later. Earthquakes in 1349, 1456, 1706 and 1915 prompted successive rebuilding campaigns; the complex was substantially restructured in 1572. After the Dominican order was suppressed, the convent passed through military and civic uses, while the church's medieval and Baroque fabric continued to mark the site.