Church of The Cappuccini

The church was built outside the walls, near the ancient church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, by the monks of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins who arrived in Taormina in 1559.
The existing church of St. Catherine of Alexandria dated back to 1400, next to it was built in 1551 the Capuchin monastery.
The convent was sold to the Capuchin Fathers on April 27th of 1610, at a price of 2,000 forints, with the consent of the Archbishop of Messina and the Spaniard Pietro Ruiz de Valdeviesco, to enlarge the convent.
The nobles and some citizens promised to pay the said sum at the same time the sale decided to build another church dedicated to S. Caterina inside the walls.

On the main façade there is a beautiful portal ogivo, whose jambs are stone of Taormina, and whose lintel fitting shelves is in red marble of Taormina. Above the lintel there is the very ornate ogivo arc, and the sides of the jambs there are two twisted columns, and the entire portal is framed by a decorative black lava pumice, in the traditional style tauromenitano.
The portal of the church of the Capuchins is dominated by a rectangular window, above which a small rosette decorates the facade. In the church still retains a sundial or Meridiana, which bears the date 1837.

In the eastern facade of the church c and another beautiful portal that was walled in 1766, as evidenced by the date engraved on the plaster; this walled portal jambs and the interior stone lintel of Taormina, while external jambs, imitating columns with Corinthian-style capitals, that are fake columns and the architrave are related in red marble of Taormina.
The bell tower was built recently. It was built in 1932 to replace a tiny embedded bell on the left side of the facade.
The Anthonian nuns “Daughters of Divine zeal, took possession of the former Capuchin monastery January 12, 1902, and since then supervise orphanage Antoniano women.