The monastery complex is located in the historical centre of the city of Catania, alongside the church of San Nicolò l'Arena. The structure integrates architectural styles from various centuries. Although founded in the 16th century, two natural disasters in the 17th century required major reconstuction. The 1669 Etna eruption surrounded the city of Catania with lava, widening the coast for more than 1 km, and the lands of the monastery too. While the monastery was not destroyed by the lava, the surrounding azquired a level of lava stone 12 meters high. The 1693 Sicily earthquake, also called the Val di Noto earthquake, and the following tsunami ravaged the entire east coast of Sicily and Catania. Like nearly the entire city, the monastery was nearly razed and the only the basement floors survived.