A vineyard and church was present at the site by the 14th century, dedicated to St Oliva, who putatively had died as a martyr in North Africa in 463, and had been buried at a cemetery here outside the city walls.

Putatively, in 1495, while the Count of Monteleone, Don Ettore Pignatelli, was imprisoned in Tours by the French King Charles VIII, he was visited by St Francis of Paola.

[1] The church was originally located outside the city walls, a few hundred meters north of Porta Carini.

Across the small grove of trees in the piazza in front of the facade, lies the cloister of Villa Filippina.

The ceiling frescoes depicting saints, the four evangelists, and the four doctors of the church, as well as scenes from the life of St Francis of Paola, were painted by Giuseppe Salerno.