Almo Collegio Capranica

[1] Around 1449 Cardinal Domenico Capranica began construction of his palace by buying some houses near the parish church of St. Mary in Aquiro, in the square that now bears his name.

Among the buildings acquired there was a chapel, which tradition says was built on the site of the birthplace of St. Agnes, who would have suffered martyrdom in the nearby stadium of Domitian.

He founded the college in January 1457, with the aim of offering the opportunity of a proper education for the priesthood to young poor of the city of Rome.

He opened it in his own palace for thirty-one poor scholars, sixteen in theology and the liberal arts, and fifteen in canon law.

The institution was the first of its kind in Rome; initially reserved for young Romans, it later extended hospitality to students from other Italian regions and of different nationalities.

In 1971 Pope Paul VI instituted an Episcopal Commission, composed of three former students, a cardinal and two bishops to direct the seminary.

The Capranica has produced many notable ecclesiastics, including Popes Benedict XV and Pius XII, numerous cardinals, and Blessed Luigi Novarese[6]