Located in the old city, the church was originally dedicated to Santa Maria degli Alemanni and was once the seat of the Teutonic Knights: it hosted, in fact, the sacred image of Our Lady of the Alemanni.
Towards the end of the twelfth century many were the Germans on the way to Jerusalem passing by Bari: the number increased considerably after the Swabians settled there.
In 1492 Pope Innocent VIII, upon request of Ludovico il Moro, gave the church to the Poor Clares, and the name changed to St. Clare.
Later the church was untied by the Teutonic Knights and underwent several renovations.
In 1861 it was even turned into barracks.
In 1897 the upper part of the eighteenth century bell tower was demolished.
The façade, characterized by extremely simple lines, is made with not whitewashed stone. The plant has a single nave and the altar is in the Baroque style and houses the sarcophagus of St. Clare.
The floor once in majolica, today is made with fine marble.
The church contains paintings of the seventeenth century artists Gliri Nicola and Andrea Miglianico (pupil of Luca Giordano).
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