The settlement of the Observant Friars in this area dates back to the early sixteenth century;after they abandoned a previous site;which had become insalubrious.As well as Saint Thomas Cathedral;this building was seriously damaged by the dramatic events of 1943;which erased the most significant traits of the sixteenth and seventeenth-century adjustments of the church.Among the heaviest losses;there is a fresco carried out by painters from Lombardy;who had added to the church a chapel consecrated to their patron saint Ambrose.Nowadays the most noteworthy art-works are the lunettes of the cloister;painted by the Polish artist ;Sebastiano Majewsky;who operated mainly in Teramo.