Santa Maria di Portosalvo, Naples
Santa Maria di Portosalvo or Santa Maria fuori le mura is a former Roman Catholic church in Naples, Italy. It is situated on via Alcide De Gasperi, at the start of via Marina, near the harbour and outside the city walls.
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It was founded by the sailor Bernardino Belladonna, who had escaped a shipwreck and wished to set up a lay congregation with a chapel, consisting of himself and other sailors and shipowners. On 31 May 1554, the cardinal gave him permission to do so and on 1 June, Belladonna, Nardo Calvanico, Annibale De Pronillo and brother Albano, were elected governors of the congregation. The site that they chose for their chapel was originally a narrow peninsula outside Porta di Massa. A few months later, work started on the congregation's chapel, which lasted until 1564. The building was then generally decorated between 1564 and 1565 at the cost of 150 ducats - one master Battista built a spiral staircase in the choir.
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