The construction of the Convent of the Capuchin Friars was completed in 1630, largely thanks to the offerings and help of the town’s population, testifying to the strong bond between the Sorrese community and the Order. The structure still retains its square plan intact today, on two levels. In the past, it housed 14 dormitory cells arranged on two sides of the upper floor while a third wing housed communal living quarters. On the ground floor were the refectory and storeroom. In the inner courtyard, right in the center of the cloister, one can still admire the ancient cistern that supplied water to the population for several decades, until the construction of the more modern “hanging” aqueduct (1948) located in the outer space of the Convent, where the Friars once cultivated their vegetable garden. The Capuchins remained until 1866, when the Royal Decree was issued by which religious orders were suppressed and their property confiscated by the state. In later eras, the premises of the former convent housed the offices of the municipal administration, schools and, more recently, until the early 2000s, the kindergarten of the Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph. Currently, the spacious rooms on the upper floor house the Municipal Multimedia Library.
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