Convent of Aracoeli

The early origins of the convent - which arose in the templar area which also included the Temple of Jupiter Capitoline - probably date back to the 6th century.[1] The ruins of the former imposing complex of monuments, destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century, were gradually replaced by the Basilica and the Convent of Aracoeli, built by reusing part of the same construction material. Here, starting from the 10th century, the Rule of Saint Benedict was observed.
In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi may have found refuge there during his stays in Rome.[2] For this reason, as well as for its central position within the city, a few years after the Saint's death the convent became the main Roman seat of the nascent Franciscan order of Friars Minor: in 1250, Pope Innocent IV in fact entrusted the complex, including the adjoining basilica, to the Franciscans. From this moment on, the institution maintained an increasing cooperation with the Municipality of Rome, which was based in the adjacent Piazza del Campidoglio. In 1310 the Franciscans opened a Studium, which worked as an university institute from 1421 to 1444.[3] In 1444, with Pope Eugene IV, the convent passed from the Conventual Franciscans to the Observant Minors; in 1517 it became the Generalate of the latter, a role it held until the definitive demolition of the convent in 1886. Nonetheless, the institution always maintained the connotation of a center of culture and teaching, since it was the seat of a seminary for novices and an hospice for scholars.

Franciscan monks in the cloister of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli by Jodocus Sebastiaen van den Abeele (1842).

The convent was gradually expanded to include three cloisters. In 1535, the papal villa commonly called Tower of Paul III - from the name of the Pope who ordered its construction, Paul III - was built close to the edifice; another building annexed to the convent was the elevated walkway - called Arco San Marco - which connected the whole complex with Palazzetto San Marco (now Palazzetto Venezia), part of Palazzo di San Marco (now Palazzo Venezia).
The activities of the monastery also included hospitality and care of the sick, but since the Middle Ages it also housed a vast library, which in 19th century was made up of thousands of volumes (over 17,000), including manuscripts. This rich library, refounded in 1733 and called Bibliotheca Aracoelitana (or also Evoriana from the city of origin of its founder, the Franciscan José Ribeiro da Fonseca[4]) was open to the public in some days of the week.

In 1798, during the first French invasion, the convent was deconsecrated and used as a stable; with the advent of the Napoleonic government (1810 - 1815), it became the seat of the Accademia di San Luca for a short time[5].
In 1873 - soon after the unification of Italy, when many religious orders were suppressed and several ecclesiastical buildings and assets confiscated - the Italian State expropriated the complex and used it as the headquarters of the traffic police for just over a decade. Finally, in 1886 the monastery was almost completely demolished to make way for the Vittoriano, thereby ending a more than millennial history.[6]