Founded in 1531 by Count Antonio Moncada, the Benedictine monastery remained for several centuries the only convent for women in the city. It was dedicated to the Holy Savior until 1590, when it was renamed Santa Croce thanks to a precious relic of the Holy Cross of Christ that Lady Luisa Moncada had donated to the convent.
In the convent, girls from wealthy families in the city were educated, but there were also a number of orphans supported by the generosity of benefactors. The church features a very original façade due to the presence of a long row of windows protected by gelosie - iron grilles with a typical outward-curving shape - topped by a bell gable that is off-centered in relation to the overall symmetry.
The entrance portal seems to have been created from a secondary doorway, later enhanced by a broken curvilinear pediment and decorated with a stone bas-relief.