Santa Marta, Catholic church in Genoa, Italy

Santa Marta is a church on Piazza Corvetto in Genoa, built in three naves, the layout used for female monastic churches, with an upper choir resting on the first two pillars of the nave. Between the 17th and 18th centuries its whole interior surface was covered with paintings and ornament. The marble statue of Saint Martha on the high altar is by Filippo Parodi.

Santa Marta took its present three-nave form from 1535; this layout, with an upper choir resting on the first two nave pillars, is typical of female monastic churches. Between the 17th and 18th centuries the whole interior surface was covered with paintings and ornament.

The interior was covered with paintings and ornaments between the 17th and 18th centuries, and frescoes by Genoese painters such as Giovanni Battista Carlone, Valerio Castello, Domenico Piola and Lorenzo De Ferrari can be seen there. The name comes from the marble statue of Saint Martha by Filippo Parodi on the high altar. The church has long been a centre of Eucharistic adoration, with a Mass in honour of the Sacred Heart every first Friday of the month at 1.30 pm.

A visit is best planned with enough time to study the facade details and interior furnishings carefully. The church is easily accessible by public transportation and sits centrally in the city.

The church holds a marble statue of Saint Martha by Filippo Parodi on the high altar, flanked by a Crucifix by Giovanni Battista Gaggini da Bissone and canvases by Domenico Fiasella and Carlo Giuseppe Ratti. Leaving through the door onto Piazza Corvetto leads to the Sala Capitolare, used for the educational and cultural activities of the Biblioteca Franzoniana.