The church of S. Franceso di Paola had a single nave and three chapels on each side and a deep round apse. The church and the convent complex was orientated on a N-S alignment with the façade along the present via d’Azeglio. It was built above an earlier building, documented in the 13th century as belonging to the Knights of Malta. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, had a small hospice attached to it, and was of modest size standing on an E-W alignment.
Its importance from an archaeological point of view lies not only in its position on the ancient via Emilia. The stated existence in written sources of a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the 13th century, with its small hospitum; the presence of a conventual-charitable complex which continued during the 17th-18th century with the presence of monks belonging to the Order of Minims; and lastly the continuation of these functions during the 19th and part of the 20th centuries distinguish this place and render it unique. (MiBAC)