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In 1479, the Republic of Dubrovnik concluded a contract on the construction of a church in the local settlement of Trstenica, which is today's Orebić. Two years after that, the Republic made a decision on the allocation of land for the construction of the monastery. The monastery and church in the Gothic-Renaissance style were built on top of a rock near the Podgorje settlement. The area of the monastery is one of the most beautiful viewpoints on the Pelješac peninsula with a panoramic view of the Pelješac channel and the island of Korčula on the other side of the channel.

The Franciscan monastery served as a home for the Franciscans, but also as a place of spiritual care and education for the people, and it was able to resist pirate attacks due to its characteristics of a fortress. In the eastern wing of the monastery, today there is a well-visited museum where numerous documents and other materials about the ecclesiastical and maritime past of Orebić are exhibited. The church within the monastery is a sailor's shrine and a sort of votive church of the Orebić sailors and regiment. The monastery was renovated during the 19th century when the roofs and organ were restored, marble altars were installed and new bells were purchased. Orebić captains passing through the Pelješac Canal would greet the Franciscans with a siren, and they would respond by ringing church bells. The monastery is a cultural monument and has a library from the 16th century. Next to it is the captain's cemetery with sumptuous tombs and mausoleums. The most famous is the Mimbelli family mausoleum, which bears witness to the story of the completion of the glory of the captain and shipowner from Orebić. The ship-owning Mimbelli family is responsible for the construction of the waterworks in Orebić and the renovation of the Franciscan church.

The monastery and the church of Our Lady of Angels are located above Čempresada, a special reserve of cypress vegetation, which is a legally protected part of nature. Čempresada covers 46 hectares and was declared a special reserve in 1964. It consists of vertical and horizontal cypress trees and Aleppo pine, which extends around the central part of the cypress area. There are also significant holm oaks and sable oaks, as well as a number of other smaller plants. The reserve is part of the largest European ecological network NATURA 2000 as an area of special protection for birds.

Fun fact: The Mimbelli mausoleum is the work of the sculptor Ivan Rendić and bears witness to the end of the fame and success of the Orebić captains and shipowners. Anton Mimbelli owned 33 sailing ships and was the biggest patron in Orebić, but his son Baldo fell in love with the daughter of a governess that Anton's dad brought from Russia. It was an illicit love that his parents did not approve of. After that, Baldo vowed never to marry. With the tomb he had built for himself and his family, the Mimbelli lineage is buried.