 Introduction
Santa Donna Regina Vecchia is a church in Naples, in southern Italy. It is called Vecchia (old) to distinguish it from the newer and adjacent church of Santa Maria Donna Regina Nuova.
 History
The earliest church was built on this location in the 14th century in a reference to the nuns of the church of San Pietro del Monte di Donna Regina. At that time, the church was quite near the old eastern city wall. The nuns were of the Basilian order and when that order left Naples in the beginning of the 9th century, took Benedictine vows. In 1264, Pope Gregory IX gave the nuns permission to join the Franciscan order. In 1293 a severe earthquake caused great damage to the original structure, and queen Mary of Hungary, consort of the king of Naples, Charles II of Anjou financed the constructor of a new complex adjacent to the old one. The newer complex is known as Santa Maria Donna Regina Nuova. In 1616-27 a new edifice was built by the architect Giovanni Guarino for the nuns of the annexed convent of the same name. Originally the monastery and the church were connected by a passage between the tribune of the new church and the apse of the old one, but this was eliminated by the 1928-34 restoration.
 Whats to see
The facade presents a wide 17th-century staircase, and houses two stucco statues portraying St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew. The interior has a single nave with six side chapels and a rich Baroque marble decoration. The ceiling has a large fresco by Francesco de Benedictis (1654). The sides of the apse have frescoes by Francesco Solimena portraying histories of St. Francis.
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