Santa Caterina a Chiaia (also known as Santa Caterina martire) is a church in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is located near Piazza dei Martiri in the Chiaia section of the city.

The church was built originally as a small family chapel by the Forti family and then ceded to the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

order, which expanded it by 1600. The church that ones sees today, however, is the result of a series of remodelings, including one as late as 1732 in the wake of a serious earthquake in that year. The facade is characterized by a representation of the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The main entrance is marked by a plaque commemorating a restoration of the facade in 1904. Art work in the interior is mostly dedicated to the life of Saint Catherine, including a prominent dome display by Gustavo Girosi from 1916.