The church dedicated to Santa Chiara della Croce is part of the convent structure of the Poor Clares in observance of the Augustinian rule.
The first construction of the new house at the old church of Santa Caterina began in 1281 at the behest of Beata Giovanna, sister of St. Chiara. It was here that Clare became Abbess in 1291, on the death of her sister, and in 1303, she rebuilt the foundations of the church that now bears her name and where it stands today. All that remains of the original construction today is the nuns' choir, the present chapel of Santa Croce and the garden, once a vegetable garden, enclosed between the Monastery and the Church.
The Sanctuary of St. Chiara of Montefalco was built in 1615 to a design by Perugian architect Valentino Martelli.
Inside the church, on the high altar is a rich 17th-century gilded ciborium.
In the right arm of the transept, at the back, on a 14th-century base is the silver and crystal urn where the body of St.Chiara of Montefalco rests intact, with the relics of her heart.
On the left of the church is the precious “Cappella della Croce”", originally the presbytery of the Church of the Santa Croce, it was built by the Saint between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century. It is a very evocative place, the one most associated with Clare in life and in death, and even beyond death because it is there that the numerous miracles recounted in the Processes for her Canonisation would take place. This sacred place is the one she chose for her death when on the morning of 17 August 1308, she asked to be carried there on a portable wooden bed. This is still the day dedicated to her veneration. In the frescoes decorating the Cappella della Croce, frescoed in 1333, the highlights of Chiara's life are depicted in various scenes. In the cross vault are depicted the symbols of the 4 Evangelists and framed by rich decorative friezes, in the centre of the chapel is the frescoed wall with an imposing Crucifixion, crowded with more than forty figures, with a host of horsemen crowning the cross.. per quanto vi fosse affezionata e la cui unica apertura è sul cielo, infatti, vi cresce un albero sconosciuto fino agli inizi dell’800 in Europa. In primavera si copre di fiori profumati, di un viola chiaro e sfumato, delicatissimo. Da questi fiori poi, a grappolo, maturano delle bacche. I loro semi sono i ben noti “acini” con cui si confezionano da secoli le caratteristiche corone del rosario.
