- Santa Maria Donna Regina Vecchia
Santa Donna Regina Vecchia is a church in
Naples , in southernItaly . It is called "Vecchia" ("old") to distinguish it from the newer and adjacent church ofSanta Maria Donna Regina Nuova .The earlest mention of a church on this site is from the year 780 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, tookBenedictine vows. In 1264, PopeGregory IX gave the nuns permission to join the Franciscan order. In 1293 a severe earthquake caused great damage to the original structure, and queenMary of Hungary , consort of the king of Naples,Charles II of Anjou financed the constructure of a new complex adjacent to the old one. The newer complex is known asSanta Maria Donna Regina Nuova . [All information is from cite book|title=Napoli Sacra|last=Sopraintendenza per i beni artistici e culturali|publisher=Elio di Rosa|location=Naples|year=1993]notes
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