The church of Saint Francis and Saint Bonaventura and the Capuchin Convent were built in Albano Laziale in 1619 at the request of Prince Paolo Savelli and Princess Flaminia Colonna Gonzaga.
The Capuchins chose the place of construction, a position on a hill overlooking Lake Albano and the city and which is located near a wooded area now owned by the municipality.
The convent is separated by a single road from the Papal estate of Castel Gandolfo so that Pope Urban VIII Barberini often went to see the construction works assigned to the pontifical architect P. Michele.
The church was consecrated to San Francesco and Bonaventura during the Holy Year of 1625 by Cardinal Giulio Savelli.
The style of the convent is very simple and reflects the Franciscan spirit.
The façade of the church is in neoclassical style and is accessed through a double ramp staircase.
The church has a single nave with two small side chapels and an altar area covered by cross vaults.
The altar was then enriched by an important altarpiece representing Flaminia Gonzaga among Saints Francis and Bonaventura. The altarpiece was made by the Dutch painter Gerard van Honthorst also known as Gherardo delle Notti.
In a side chapel there is a marble nativity scene with the Infant Jesus surrounded by the Madonna, St. Joseph, an ox and a donkey made in 1633 by Bolgi and Speranza, two sculptors from Bernini's school.
During the Napoleonic period, the convent was expropriated and assigned to the municipality of Albano together with the nearby forest.
In 1893 the commune put up for auction the convent and the vegetable garden.
The convent was bought back by the friars while the wood remained in the municipality.
Along the perimeter of the wood there are newsstands designed by the great architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
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