Of ancient origins (Pope Boniface IX’s bull dates the legend of its founding as May 10, 715) during the Middle Ages this church, dedicated to Santa Maria propitia pauperis, and its annexed monastery were an important point of reference for pilgrims taking the Adriatic route to the Holy Land.
Nowadays the building has a front portico next to which there is the magnificent Holy Door of the school of Atri (Raimondo del Poggio, probable date 1315) with a nave and two aisles interior cadenced by pillars that support full arch bays.
The interior, where the ribs rise over the barrel vault, is vaguely reminiscent of Gothic style. Light enters from the circular opening in the façade and from windows that open above the central nave. Of the original decoration only a few 15th century frescoes remain.
In the adjacent convent (not always open) there is a square cloister (14th century) with frescoes by Sebastiano Majewski (1660), the elegant upper loggia and the refectory, which is also frescoed (16th century) with the legend of the foundation.