Dubrovnik Franciscans and their Monastery of St Thomas in the Pile suburb are first mentioned in 1235. The Monastery had been demolished upon the announcement of war with King Uroš II Milutin of Serbia in 1317 when the present-day Franciscan Monastery within the city walls was probably built (close to the Pile Gate).In the 17th century, a monastery library was created additionally, while a theological preparatory was joined to the Monastery in 1896. After the earthquake in 1667, the church was reconstructed in the Baroque style.
One of the largest and most grandiose Franciscan monasteries, it has two cloisters: the upper (in the Renaissance style, with arches and semi-circular vaults) and the lower gallery (in the Romanesque-Gothic form, characteristic of ornamented hexachords, rosettes and capitals with various geometric, plant-, human- and animal-like adornments) with arches and a promenade. The cloister, constructed by Mihoje Brajkov of Bar (first half of the 13th century), is considered one of the most beautiful Romanesque-Gothic buildings in our country. It has 120 columns and 12 massive pilasters.
In 1860 the cloister was adorned with the frescos depicting the life of St Francis. The 14th-century sarcophagus of M. Gučetić with reliefs is built into a cloister wall, while a fountain with the statue of St Francis stands in the cloister center. The Monastery houses the inventory of the old Friars Minor Pharmacy from 1317, the well-preserved pharmacy furniture from the 16th century and the 15th and 16th-century vases from Siena and Florence. Other exhibits include various presses, mortars, a 14th century still, manuscripts of recipes, precise scales, quarts, etc.
In the Museum library, there are valuable copies of manuscripts and chorales, as well as the valuable paintings by unknown masters, a 14th-century head relic of St Ursula, and a collection of “ex vuoto” jewellery.